Porsche’s new Mission X concept is a bubbly, all-electric hypercar

Porsche debuted its new Mission X on Thursday — it’s an all-electric concept car it calls a “conceptual reinterpretation” of the hypercar. Like the Porsche 918 Spyder, it’s a squat, compact affair with bubbly fenders, but where the Spyder is somewhat toned down, the Mission X leans into its chunky corner details, making it a big part of the design that extends to the roof.

Porsche says the battery, if the car were to go into production, would have a 900-volt system architecture and would charge around twice as fast as the Taycan Turbo S. It says it has a power-to-weight ratio of about one hp per 2.2lbs, and claims it would “be the fastest road-legal vehicle around the Nürburgring Nordschleife” — at the moment, that distinction belongs to the Mercedes-AMG One.

The doors sweep forward and up, so when you open them, you’re now seated under the sky, and the car takes on the look of something like a scarab beetle when looked at from the front. Check out these pictures:

Not that you’d expect anything different, but this concept is a two-seater, with a short wheelbase of just 107.4 inches, which is very close to that of the 918 Spyder. Owing to “aerodynamic purposes,” the tires stagger slightly; it’s got 20-inch wheels in front, and 21-inch ones in back.

Inside it gets all retro-future jet plane. It has a steering yoke instead of a wheel and the rest of the interior looks pulled straight from 80s sports car design, all straight lines, harsh angles, and flat surfaces. In the passenger seat dash, there’s a modular attachment area showing a stopwatch module with both an analogue and digital display for tracking lap times or “vital data of the driver,” among other things.

On the rear, the “PORSCHE” badge and red LED strips actually jut out from the car, giving it a 3D effect that’s very designer-y.

Finally, the car’s beating heart. Porsche put the battery bank in the middle of the car, just behind the seats, referring to it as an “e-core layout,” similar to traditional mid-engine car design.