Porsche hypercars have been a rare sight. The 918 Spyder emerged in 2013, followed by the Carrera GT in 2004. Going further back, the 959 debuted in 1986. In 2023, Mission X unveiled a potential flagship model from Zuffenhausen. Later that year, a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the concept into production. If the project gets the green light, significant changes in the hardware are expected.

At the time of the official unveiling of the fully electric Mission X in June 2023, celebrating Porsche’s 75th anniversary, the concept was announced as a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. However, the subsequent road version will feature all-wheel drive. Not for performance enhancement, but for efficiency improvement. While this may seem unusual for a hypercar, it makes sense. All-wheel drive will significantly increase energy recovery to recharge the battery and extend the range.

Explaining to the Australian magazine Which Car, Mission X project leader Michael Ber elaborated on why all-wheel drive was chosen: «It’s an electric car, and to recover a lot of energy [for the battery], you need an all-wheel-drive car to have a greater range on the Nordschleife, not just for one lap, but possibly for three laps.»

However, this still results in a relatively low range, considering that the track is just under 13 miles long, so three laps would cover 39 miles. Nonetheless, Ber mentioned three laps being driven by a skilled driver who can maximize Mission X’s performance. At normal speeds, an electric hypercar would likely have a significantly larger range.

Porsche hypercars have been a rare sight. The 918 Spyder emerged in 2013, followed by the Carrera GT in 2004. Going further back, the 959 debuted in 1986. In 2023, Mission X unveiled a potential flagship model from Zuffenhausen. Later that year, a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the concept into production. If the project gets the green light, significant changes in the hardware are expected.

At the time of the official unveiling of the fully electric Mission X in June 2023, celebrating Porsche’s 75th anniversary, the concept was announced as a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. However, the subsequent road version will feature all-wheel drive. Not for performance enhancement, but for efficiency improvement. While this may seem unusual for a hypercar, it makes sense. All-wheel drive will significantly increase energy recovery to recharge the battery and extend the range.

Explaining to the Australian magazine Which Car, Mission X project leader Michael Ber elaborated on why all-wheel drive was chosen: «It’s an electric car, and to recover a lot of energy [for the battery], you need an all-wheel-drive car to have a greater range on the Nordschleife, not just for one lap, but possibly for three laps.»

However, this still results in a relatively low range, considering that the track is just under 13 miles long, so three laps would cover 39 miles. Nonetheless, Ber mentioned three laps being driven by a skilled driver who can maximize Mission X’s performance. At normal speeds, an electric hypercar would likely have a significantly larger range.