Porsche is diving head first into its electrification, with all they hype surrounding the Taycan, formally Mission E, their first electric car. Some might have forgotten about the Cross Turismo version following close behind.
The Cross Turismo was shown not too long ago at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. It was an interesting mix of Macan, Panamera Sport Turismo, and Taycan. Many people see it as another great competitor to Tesla, and more specifically the Tesla Model X.
Automobile Magazine had a test drive with a prototype version and revealed that the Cross Turismo will go on sale in 2021:
“Yes, we are indeed working on the E Cross with volume production in mind,” admits the wiry project leader. “But so far, there has not been an official go-ahead.” According to the supplier community, the Cross Turismo will go on sale in late 2021, though the design was allegedly frozen in 2017, together with that of the Taycan—the car formerly known as the Mission E—with which it shares much of its hardware.
During the test drive (which you can read more in depth in the source) there were comments on the Cross Turismo’s lack of off-road capability. The Cross Turismo is shown as more rugged version of the Taycan. But with a height of 55.9 inches, it is as high as Panamera. So selling it as a full fledged SUV in the United States might be difficult.
The Porsche purists among us might be at least a little relieved to hear that Porsche intends this to perform like its internal combustion ancestors and also not compromise range for performance:
“A plug-in Porsche must drive and perform like a Porsche fitted with a combustion engine,” says Weckbach. “It must sustain long flat-out autobahn stints without overheating. Repeatability is key when it comes to full-throttle acceleration. The main dynamic parameters have to remain intact through the entire battery charge span. Only when the warning light comes on, under certain conditions performance may be compromised for range.”
Once again, the test drive was done in a prototype, so the impressions aren’t indicative of the final productivity model. The price of Cross Turismo is thought to be close to the Panamera Sport Turismo, so the base Cross Turismo should start around $100,000. So now I pose the question like I did with Jaguar i-Pace, is this a Model X competitor? Should Tesla be worried about this upcoming car? Let us know down in the comments below.
Source: Automobile
