Porsche Mission S price: not announced, and the new supercar above the 911 has no date yet

The Porsche Mission S has no price yet. Porsche showed it on Oct. 15 as a preview of something it has never sold: a supercar that sits above the 911 and stays in the lineup year after year. Here’s what Porsche said, what it didn’t and what the car could cost.

How much will the Porsche Mission S cost?

Porsche hasn’t announced a price. Expected price: about $400,000, our estimate. Porsche’s Oct. 15 announcement gives no price, no specs and no production date.

Our estimate starts from the 911, because Porsche says the new car sits above it. On Porsche’s US site on Oct. 18, the most expensive 911 is the 911 GT3 90 F. A. Porsche, from $387,000. The 911 Turbo S starts at $270,300, and the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet at $284,300. A permanent model above those would likely start around $400,000.

Porsche hasn’t confirmed any of this. Estimates in reports range from about $250,000 to $500,000.

When will the Mission S come out?

Porsche hasn’t given a date. Its announcement says it is developing a new mid-engine super sports car platform, and that the Mission S is a first look at it.

Porsche’s head of style, Tobias Sühlmann, said the Mission S shows a strategic direction that Porsche will soon be translating into its future products. Porsche hasn’t said whether that means one car or several, or when the first one arrives.

What is the Porsche Mission S?

The Mission S is a vision model, Porsche’s term for a design study. It does two jobs:

• A new lookIt previews the design Porsche plans to use on its cars in the coming years.
• A new car lineIt previews a mid-engine super sports car platform above the 911.

Porsche CEO Michael Leiters said the platform is not a one-off hypercar but a permanent and versatile addition to Porsche’s lineup. Porsche says it’s the first time it has planned a supercar above the 911 that stays on sale.

Porsche’s past supercars were built in limited runs and then ended. The Mission S is part of Sportwagenschmiede 35, Porsche’s new long-term plan.

What engine will it have?

Porsche hasn’t said. Its announcement says only that the engine sits in the middle of the car, which gives the Mission S its low, sweeping roofline. There’s no output, no cylinder count and no 0-60 time.

In interviews after the reveal, Leiters ruled out a fully electric version. Reports differ on whether a hybrid will be offered alongside a gas engine. Leiters also said customer demand will decide what Porsche builds on the platform.

The Porsche icons behind the design

Porsche says the Mission S borrows from its best-known cars:

• 911The round headlights and the “torpedo” fenders.
• 911 G modelBuilt for the 1974 to 1989 model years: the shut lines that run into the lights.
• 911 GT1The flat front and the car-in-car design at the rear.
• 959The roofline under the rear wing.
• 917A cooling design that recalls the racer’s radiator fan.
• 928The dial-style wheels, redesigned to be light.

It also has a fully integrated active rear wing. The show car comes in colors that echo Porsche’s racing cars: Firn White Metallic, Light Red Metallic and Black Chrome, with Special Black inside.

Inside: no center screen

The cabin is based on the 550 Spyder and the 356, two of Porsche’s earliest sports cars. Porsche left out a permanent center display and a passenger display.

Instead, a retractable holder that works with MagSafe holds your smartphone, which can show navigation or other information. The My Porsche app controls the car’s functions and lets you pick old-style designs for the gauges.

Behind the steering wheel are five round instruments. In the middle is a tachometer with a real needle and a display behind it. Depending on the driving mode, the tachometer moves closer to the driver, and the dials sit either side by side or one behind another.

Other details include a key slot to the left of the steering wheel, as in other Porsches, push-pull switches on the dashboard and the seatbelt buckle built into the center panel.

Why Porsche showed it in New York

Porsche revealed the Mission S on a pier in Queens, facing the Manhattan skyline. The first photos of the 550 Spyder, Porsche’s first mid-engine super sports car, were taken on the same pier in 1953. Porsche says the 550 Spyder helped make the brand popular in the US.

For more future cars, see our pages on the Tesla Roadster and the Rivian R3.

This page is updated as soon as Porsche announces a price, a date or specs for a car based on the Mission S.