As the clock’s ticked down towards the debut of the Porsche Mission S, there seems to have been a brief lapse in judgement regarding one thing: elevated surfaces. Even in a private courtyard, privacy only goes as high as the wall, and that’s assuming nobody’s perched atop the wall. Yep, someone managed to get the high ground and provide the world with a glimpse of Porsche’s latest endeavour, and the Instagram account that first posted footage appears to be linked to a Porsche dealership.
So what is the Mission S? Likely a thinly-veiled preview of an incoming production car. The Mission E was effectively the preview for the Taycan, while the next-generation 718 should look much like the Mission R concept. However, the Mission S likely isn’t a preview of the next 911. Instead, Porsche’s looking to find margin in higher-end products, with a model sitting above the 911 teased in recent investor materials.
However, this doesn’t mean that the Mission S previews a 918 Spyder successor. While an overhead angle like this is rarely flattering when shot with what appears to be a phone camera, there’s enough in the video posted by Instagram account King of the Crest to make out a whole lot of 911-like DNA. The greenhouse, some of the general proportions, the way the roof rails sweep back to meet the deck lid. However, there’s something else big going on here.
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No, I’m not talking about the 917-inspired fan sunk into the panel filling what would normally be a rear window, although that’s definitely eye-catching. Whether it’s really for cooling or for airflow, its primary purpose at a cars and coffee will be bling. Come to think of it, a spinning set of blades on the outside of a car would draw the ire of pedestrian safety advocates, so this element may be a pure flight of fancy. Instead, it’s the rear aero situation that caught my attention. A bridge-style wing is exceptionally 959-ish, especially when combined with this thing’s take on a familiar greenhouse.
The thing is, people have done 959-ish before. The Marc Gemballa Marsien GT is a heavily modified pre-facelift 911 Turbo S with 959-like visual cues, and it was revealed back in August. Too modern for you? The Kalmar 9×9 ought to do the trick so long as you have deep, deep pockets. It’s based on an old air-cooled 911 from the ’90s and looks properly ballistic. Unlike with certain marques, modification has always been part of the Porsche culture, which makes high-end heritage throwbacks a little tricky. How can Porsche find a pocket that the aftermarket won’t or can’t exploit?
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We’ll find out soon enough, as the Mission S will officially debut today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Rumors will either be confirmed or put to bed, and while I’m certainly not a betting man, an official teaser of an 8,000 RPM redline suggests Porsche has something interesting up its sleeve. That’s lower than the redline in a GT3 but higher than the redline in a Turbo S. Something to think about.
Top graphic image: Instagram/King Of The Crest
Meh
The round “fan” in the rear is actually a mount for the Mr. Fusion. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzOsiYeDFUhjTQ1yN9g6SRSyUsYl-UXgOi7bV7UBwCTQ&s=10
I’ve always liked the idea of a non-hypercar model above the 911 in Porsche’s lineup. However, with the current Turbo S cranking out 700+hp and the GT3RS sitting at a sub 6:50 lap time on the Nurburgring, I’m not sure where a model like that could possibly sit and not be a hypercar?