Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo Concept: It's an Electric Porsche Wagon

BY GREG FINK

Giving credence to the Cross Turismo’s rugged looks is an air suspension setup that can raise the wagon’s ride height by almost two inches, while a set of chunky 275/40R-20 tires wrap around blue five-spoke wheels. An electric motor at each axle provides the all-wheel-drive Cross Turismo with a combined 590 horsepower as well as torque-vectoring abilities.

Charging the Mission E Cross Turismo is accomplished via induction charging or by plugging into the charge port on the right-front fender. Thanks to its 800-volt architecture, the Cross Turismo’s lithium-ion battery pack is capable of adding nearly 200 miles of range in 15 minutes, according to Porsche.

Despite its concept-car status, the Cross Turismo strikes us as decidedly production ready, with details like its LED headlights, exterior side mirrors, door handles, and even some body panels matching the units we’ve seen in spy photos of the Mission E sedan.

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Likewise, the interior is a mix of concept-car kit and production-ready pieces. As in the new Cayenne and the current Panamera, the Cross Turismo employs touchscreen technology that is not just limited to the center console. The concept relies on a number of small touchscreens for controlling the windows, seat operation, and air vents, as well as a massive central touchscreen that stretches well into the front passenger’s side of the dashboard.

Meanwhile, a camera in the interior rearview mirror tracks both the driver’s and the front passenger’s eyes and displays pertinent information from the digital gauge cluster and the main infotainment screen in the direction that either individual is looking.

While we wouldn’t count on the eye-tracking technology to debut on the production Mission E, we expect the basic interior design of the Cross Turismo to remain intact. We’d also wager that the production car will rely on old-fashioned knobs and switches for operating the windows, climate control, and seats.

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If you’d told us a decade ago that Porsche was considering producing a Subaru Outback–like electric crossover wagon, we would have done a spit take. Now that it’s here in the flesh, though, we have to admit that we’re less averse to the idea than we’d imagined. With the Porsche Mission E sedan expected to go on sale before the end of the decade, we had presumed it’s all but a given that a more practical wagon variant will join the fracas a couple of years later, as it has in the Panamera lineup. Let’s just hope that Porsche sells a Mission E Sport Turismo alongside the more rough-and-tumble Cross Turismo.