Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo Concept Teases an Electric Soft-Roader of Tomorrow

Giving the Mission E electric sport sedan the Subaru Outback treatment.

byEric Adams|
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With its beefy blue wheels and unfortunate black-clad arches right above them, Porsche’s new Mission E Cross Turismo, unveiled Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show, may not be the glamorous looker we all expect from the highbrow brand—it distinctly echoes the modern German tradition of off-road-ready station wagons, such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain and the Audi Allroad Quattro. But it’s absolutely the electric vehicle we need right now.

After all, electric cars are still having a tough time penetrating the global market. Even with all the vehicles coming out at Tesla, the early promise of the Chevrolet Bolt, and the many other options from virtually every manufacturer, EVs comprise not even one percent of vehicles around the world. Granted, that number is growing fast, but consumers are taking an awfully long time to accept the fact that the cars can fit into their lives, are reliable and durable, and won’t cause more problems than they solve.

Porsche

Enter the Mission E Cross Turismo, a 600-horsepower electric crossover with a hint of attitude and edge and an aura of invincibility. Intended to roll out shortly after the Mission E sport sedan bows sometime next year, the Cross Turismo is a jacked-up variant for "active users"—those who want to throw bikes and skis into the back, head out for adventure, and then take the thing to work on Monday. Though the company was coy about the Cross Turismo's true off-road capability—and any system-hardening Porsche will have to do to enable it—the design clearly suggests the vehicle can manage beaches and trails, if not necessarily the Rubicon. It has a degree of ground clearance and a set of rather robust-looking shoes. Ergo, it’s tough.

Porsche

It’s also got some oomph. Porsche claims the Mission E Cross Turismo will reach 60 miles per hour in just 3.5 seconds and reach its top speed of 155 mph in just 12 seconds, thanks to dual permanent-magnet motors (one at each axle). Once you’re done burning through the battery doing jackrabbit starts, you’ll be able to charge it up through an 800-volt network at a rate of 100 kilometers of range for every 15 minutes at the plug, which is a commendable rate. Inside, the Cross Turismo's seats are mounted on rails for the sake of versatility; there’s ample room for gear storage, as you'd expect in an active lifestyle-focused electric car; and a new driver interface features an eye-tracking system that isolates whichever display you’re looking at at any given time, and emphasizes that specific dataset.

Porsche
Porsche

EVs like this will likely go a long way toward inspiring confidence among still-reluctant buyers, even if they aren’t in the market for what will likely be a pricey Porsche variant. And if the company is able to build a decent amount of actual off-roadability into the electric powertrain, it should inspire confidence in those who may already want an EV, but want some adventure thrown in, as well. After all, people want crossovers like crazy these days—it stands to reason they'd want their electric cars lifted and adventurous, too. 

Porsche
Porsche
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