Porsche Mission X-inspired hypercar likely to get all-wheel drive

Porsche has produced a few hypercars and the gap between them remained long. The German sportscar giant introduced the 918 Spyder back in 2013, while the Carrera GT was launched in 2004. The previous one was 959, which debuted even further back in 1986. The OEM previewed the Mission X concept as the next potential Porsche flagship in 2023. Now, the automaker is mulling the plan to put the concept into production. If it gets a green signal, then the concept-inspired hypercar would come with a lot of hardware upgrades.

The Porche Mission X concept previewed an all-electric hypercar with a rear-wheel drive layout. However, the potential production form of the EV would come with an all-wheel drive (AWD) layout, hinted Mission X project manager Michael Behr while speaking with the Australian automotive magazine Which Car.

Behr has reported that the road-legal version of the Mission X will switch to an AWD setup, not to enhance performance but to improve efficiency. An AWD setup would significantly increase energy recuperation to put more power back into the battery pack, which will eventually extend the range of the hypercar. “It's an electric car and you need a four-wheel-driven car to recuperate a lot of energy for the battery to have a bigger range on the Nordschleife, not just for one lap, maybe for three laps," he explained.

The idea of upgrading the concept's rear-wheel drive setup into an AWD in the production version seems logical, as this strategy will not force Porsche to cram in a huge battery pack to extend the EV's range since that would add significant weight. Also, considering the concept's length of 177.1 inches, it would be difficult for the OEM to install a supersized battery pack. Behr has reportedly stated that the wheelbase of the car would be altered for the production version, compared to the concept.

The Porsche Mission X was equipped with a centrally mounted battery pack located behind the seats and featured direct oil cooling. The EV was showcased with a 900-volt system to enable charging speeds about twice as fast as the pre-facelift Porsche Taycan Turbo S. The recently updated Taycan Turbo S now supports 320 kW charging power instead of the previous 270 kW, enabling the battery pack to be replenished from 10-80 per cent in just 18 minutes. Expect such technologies to be used in Porsche's next hypercar as well.