Porsche previews a mid-engined supercar above the 911 with the Mission S concept

Porsche has revealed the Mission S, a concept that previews a new mid-engined super sports car to sit above the 911 in the range. The company has confirmed a production car with the same design direction is in the works, and chairman Michael Leiters says it will be a permanent and versatile addition to the lineup rather than a one-off hypercar.

The concept arrives as Porsche works through a difficult financial period, and it doubles down on sports cars instead of adding another SUV to the range.

A new design language with old Porsche cues

The Mission S looks unlike anything else in the current Porsche range while staying recognisably a Porsche. The front end borrows from the 911 GT1 race car, with a large central intake, bulging torpedo fenders, round headlights and a pair of big air vents in the bonnet.

The rear is the more dramatic view. A small fan sits in the centre of the engine cover, a nod to the 917's radiator fan, and a flowing rear wing blends into the bodywork above a large diffuser and four stacked exhausts.

The mid-engine layout gives the car a classic supercar profile.

An interior built around the driver, and your phone

Inside, Porsche has drawn on the 356 and 550 Spyder for inspiration. Five digital gauges carry the key vehicle information, but there is no central infotainment screen. In its place is a retractable smartphone mount with a MagSafe connection, letting the driver run navigation or the Porsche app from their own device.

Physical toggles in the dash can be pushed or pulled to control comfort and driving functions, and the concept pairs bucket seats with racing harnesses and a carbon fibre shift lever.

How well the phone-based setup would survive the transition to a production car is an open question, but it keeps the cabin clean in a way few modern interiors manage.

Porsche's second attempt at a flagship supercar

This is not Porsche's first recent swing at a supercar concept. Three years ago the brand showed the Mission X, planned as an all-electric successor to the 918 Spyder. That project never reached production, arriving just as interest in high-performance electric exotics began to fade, while Ferrari and McLaren pressed ahead with the hybrid F80 and W1 hypercars.

The Mission S is the correction. Porsche has not explicitly confirmed the concept will reach production in the form shown, but it has committed to a new super sports car with the same forward-looking design.

A report last month indicated Porsche is developing a powerful new eight-cylinder boxer engine for the flagship, presumably for the road-going version of the Mission S.

What has not been announced

Porsche has given no pricing, no on-sale date and no technical specifications for the production car. The Mission S remains a design study, with the company confirming only the platform's position above the 911 and its permanent status in the range.

The premium price is a safe assumption for anything slotted above the 911, but the actual figure has not been revealed.

Renault has shown a production intent-looking 8 Gordini concept at the Paris Motor Show, a compact two-seater coupe inspired by the original 8 Gordini of the 1960s. The company stopped short of confirming a road car, but boss Fabrice Cambolive says the model could become one of Renault's next opportunities once deliveries of the 5 Turbo 3E begin.

The concept uses a rear-mounted electric motor with 266 hp, and Renault has not said what architecture it sits on. That is modest output for a car with this much presence, though the company's own concept chief argues the point is charm rather than lap times.

A business case comes first

Any production decision would need to clear the usual hurdle of a compelling business case, and Cambolive has been explicit about sequencing: the R5 Turbo 3E has to be sold and delivered first. Only after that, he told Autocar, could the Gordini be one of the opportunities.

The logic is straightforward. The 5 Turbo 3E is a limited-run 550 hp hyper hatch, and proving Renault can sell and deliver it would establish whether buyers will pay for characterful electric Renaults at the flagship end. The Gordini would then be a smaller, cheaper bet on the same appetite.

Power, price and the Turbo 3E dilemma

The concept's 266 hp rear motor is far from the 550 hp of the 5 Turbo 3E, and a production car could presumably adopt the same dual-motor setup as the Turbo 3E if Renault wanted more performance. The catch is cost: going dual-motor would push the price up and put the new car at odds with the humble, working-class hero image of the original 8.

Renault's concept car boss Roman Gauvin framed the brief as honesty over outright pace. It is not a two-meter-wide, 1000bhp machine, he said, but something approachable that makes you smile, fun, small, agile and nimble, positioned on the fun factor rather than shaving half a second at the Nürburgring.