Once a decade or so, Porsche, McLaren and Ferrari each tend to launch a new hypercar, which end up going up against one another in an epic decennial showdown. In the ‘00s, there was the Carrera GT, McLaren SLR and Enzo; while the ‘10s gave us the 918 Spyder, P1 and LaFerrari.
The time is right, then, for this cycle to continue. A successor to the LaFerrari has been spotted testing, while McLaren has reportedly started sharing details of its next hypercar with insiders. So where’s Porsche among all this?
Porsche Mission X concept – overhead
Well, the company’s design boss, Michael Mauer, has confirmed to Drive that a new Porsche hypercar will eventually arrive, but it probably won’t be in time to take the fight directly to the likes of Ferrari and McLaren.
Mauer confirmed to the Australian outlet that “There will be some time in the future [when] there will be a hypercar again. Not saying when, but definitely there will be one.” However, he also tempered expectations that it’ll be here imminently, with the company’s glut of current and planned product launches – including the new Macan, electric 718 and Cayenne, and a range-wide facelift for the 911 – taking priority.
Porsche Mission X concept – interior
The last we heard of a new Porsche hypercar was 2023’s Mission X, unveiled to mark the brand’s 75th anniversary. An all-electric concept car, Porsche all but confirmed at the time that a production run was planned, setting its sights on making it the fastest production car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Since then, it’s become apparent that the market for all-electric hypercars is more sluggish than lots of manufacturers expected, with even EV pioneer Rimac considering a combustion-powered car. As a result, Mauer was vague about what might power the next Porsche hypercar: “Electric is one option… Porsche, from my point of view, has never been really tied to one technical solution. I think Porsche always had a good understanding of using the best solution for the time in order to create the best car.”
Porsche Mission X concept – rear
So, based on the timeframes we know about, we might not be in for another hypercar holy trinity this decade – at least, not one that all launch within months of each other. Hopefully whatever Porsche comes up with is worth the wait.
