He wasted no time in creating the Mission S, and a new strategy for the brand.
Tobias Sühlmann didn’t have much time to settle into his new role as Porsche’s vice president of style. “It was full on from the first day,” he tells Car and Driver in his first one-on-one interview with the American press.
Just a few months after his start in February, he received a call from Porsche CEO Michael Leiters—“on a Saturday evening,” Sühlmann notes—that set out his first major task. “He said, ‘There should be a car above the 911, and it could be a mid-engine car, and let’s develop some ideas.’ ”
The resulting vehicle is the all-new Porsche Mission S, which was just revealed in New York. This production-ready two-door mid-engine super sports car came about on a startlingly rapid timeline, which seems like it would be a challenge. Fortunately, going fast is something Sühlmann enjoys. “I like to work quicker,” he says. “You have to have a clear vision, you have to translate the vision into surfaces, you have to talk to the team, and the team has to have the same mindset.” The handsome, purposeful, and impassioned design of the new car demonstrates the efficacy of his efforts.
Sühlmann came to Porsche after stints running design groups for McLaren, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Bugatti, so he knows the sport/luxury category well. But, like many automotive aficionados, he has a primal affection for the cars from Zuffenhausen. “I’ve loved Porsches since I was a kid,” he says.
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