PORSCHE MISSION R
MISSION STATEMENT
Concept cars are supposed to be a tantalising glimpse of the future to come – in which case, sign us right up to the Mission R
WORDS OLLIE MARRIAGE
PHOTOGRAPHY MARK RICCIONI
CONCEPT OF THE YEAR
Someone accidentally put the Mission R in Eco mode and now it’s angry
Sure, we’ve been complaining about the lack of buttons in new cars, but this...
We love a good concept, fingers crossed this one doesn’t turn into a diesel SUV
CONCEPT CARS ARE
SPECULATION GENERATORS.
They exist to hint or point, to stir things up, to create a buzz. To make noise. Yes, even the electric ones. Just as well, because boy has the Mission R got a lot to say.
But of course it’s not saying anything. We are. The next Cayman, possibly. I wouldn’t be unhappy about that at all. It looks terrific and although we don’t yet know how that car will be powered, we can say that the stylistic devices of this one more closely resemble a Taycan than a 911.
An electric Cayman then? Porsche itself says it doesn’t yet know. Pull the other one. Going on a standard industry eight year model cycle means the 982’s replacement will be here in four years’ time. The design will already have been signed off, so too the packaging, which means the technical specification must be set. Heck, prototypes will probably already be rattling around somewhere. Perhaps it could be both hybrid and electric? All pure speculation.
But I’m more interested in what the Mission R says about Porsche’s attitude to motorsport. That it can be electric for one. But we already knew that because it competes in Formula E. Urgh, Formula E, motorsport made beige. If I was Porsche I’d want to make sure my electric motorsport programme looked beyond that too. This does. Porsche’s statement that the Mission R has the performance of a 911 Supercup car was interesting and not just for what it says about this car’s track performance.