Porsche Teases Mid-Engine Mission S With 8,000 RPM Redline

Porsche has released a new teaser for the incoming Mission S Concept Car that will preview the automaker's next mid-engine supercar.

In a social media clip, Porsche offers a look at the car's digital tachometer as it sweeps to an 8,000-rpm redline. There are also retracting gauges reminiscent of a Lexus LFA. We haven't seen a flagship from Stuttgart since the 918 Spyder ended its production run a decade ago.

Earlier this week, Porsche said it would be engineering an all-new mid-engine platform. Rather than a standalone hypercar, the architecture is in line to deliver a whole family of cars positioned above the 911. The rumors kicking around for this car have been wild, especially if you believe the one about the twin-turbo flat-eight engine. The teaser doesn't confirm that rumor one way or another, but it does seem to have at least confirmed the turbo part of the equation.

Turbocharged engines typically run fewer RPMs than their naturally aspirated siblings — you simply can't spin a turbocharged engine as fast as an atmospheric one because of the risk of detonation. Compressing air makes it hotter, so spinning at high RPM combined with forced induction can raise cylinder temperatures into a range where detonation becomes a real possibility.

An example from Porsche's own stable — the naturally aspirated 4.6L V8 used in the Porsche 918 Spyder could spin to 9,400 RPM before fuel was cut, in practice, though redline was officially 9,150 rpm. That same engine was given a pair of turbochargers and used for Porsche's 963 endurance race car, which turns peak power at 8,360 rpm.

Even if you compare Porsche's flat engines, the relationship holds. Just look at the redline differences between a naturally aspirated 911 GT3 RS with a 9,000 rpm redline and the 7,200 rpm limit of the turbocharged 911 GT2 RS.

Given that Porsche is pretty cash-strapped at the moment, it does seem a good bet the automaker will use a version of the twin-turbo V8 rather than building a bespoke flat-eight engine, something the automaker hasn't done for decades.

The video shows a few rapid gear changes, so it's reasonable to expect a lightning-fast PDK dual-clutch transmission rather than a stick shift — although the video does only show it shifting to 6th gear rather than 7th, typical of the automaker's high-performance PDKs. It's also likely the automaker chooses to integrate some kind of hybrid electrical assistance.

We'll know for sure when the cover comes off on October 15.

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