Mission R is 1,000PS Electric Porsche racecar

In qualifying mode, it can call on 1,088PS (800kW) for 0-62mph in less than 2.5 seconds and a top speed of above 300km/h (186mph). Great for that flying lap, hillclimb or sprint but with 80kWh battery capacity you might run out of juice over the course of a full race.

That’s when you select race mode which drops power to 680PS (500kW) – and the good news is Porsche says it can still turn in the same lap times as the current petrol-powered Porsche customer racer, the GT3 Cup.

The batteries are good for about 40 minutes of racing, but a mid-race top-up to 80 per cent requires a pit stop of just 15 minutes, says Porsche. That’s thanks to 900-volt technology and the ability to charge at up to 340kW.

Racing range is enhanced thanks to a new kind of energy recuperation system and direct oil cooling for the motors and batteries, ensuring constant power and no tail-off in performance owing to changing thermal conditions.

Obviously a Porsche, with a happy face and giant adjustable rear wing, the Mission R picks up on lots of Porsche styling cues in a low slung body that’s actually shorter than a Porsche Cayman, if a lot wider and lower; at just 1,190mm (47 inches) it’s very low indeed.

The active aerodynamics are based around louvres in the nose section and a drag reduction system (DRS) in the two-section rear wing. All four wheels are powered thanks to motors back and front; the forward unit can deliver up to for all 435PS (320kW) and the rear motor 653PS (480kW). It’s all similar to the electric drive in the Taycan.

The body is mostly made of plastic reinforced by natural flax fibres, giving Porsche’s newest racer another tick in the sustainability box. The interior, also largely plastic trimmed inside a safety module of carbon-fibre, could double as an esports simulator. It’s pure stripped-back racer with total focus on the driver. Porsche likens the distinctive cocoon with glazing to the sides and above to that of an exoskeleton.

In front of you is a steering “wheel” with most of the controls at its centre. A display behind it shows race data while a monitor above it displays images from rear-view cameras. A touch display on the right calls up the driver’s biometric data. Gamers will surely instantly feel at home here.

Porsche’s series of Mission concept cars, which date back to 2015, have a pleasing habit of becoming very real and the Mission R is unlikely to break the trend. So this is odds-on the face of Porsche’s customer motorsports – and the inevitable one-make Cup race series that goes with it – of a few years’ hence.

Is it also a sneak peek at what an electric Porsche Cayman/Boxster might be like? Those in the know say a very definite yes to that…