Porsche’s foray into electric vehicles began last year with the Taycan. However, it won’t be the automaker’s only electric vehicle. Later this year, we expect Porsche to introduce the Taycan Cross.
Porsche has dated its second all-electric car, the Taycan Cross Turismo, giving the Taycan EV its first derivative in the shape of a crossover. The launch comes after three different versions of the Tesla-rivaling Taycan, and will pave the way for another all-electric Porsche with a more familiar name for fans of the brand.
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Like with the original Taycan, Porsche clearly telegraphed what to expect from the Taycan Cross Turismo. The automaker previewed the EV with the Mission E Cross Turismo back in early 2018, a more upright version of what at that point was still known as the Mission E sedan.
Falling somewhere between a crossover and a wagon-style Panamera Sport Turismo, the Mission E Cross Turismo was very obviously a thinly-disguised production variant. Then again, that was no bad thing. Its slightly higher ride height and sloping rear promised a more elevated driving position and greater rear seat headroom.
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Come October 2018 and Porsche was already confirming that it would be putting the concept into production. Now, in its Annual & Sustainability report for 2019, it’s giving an update on when we can expect the Taycan Cross Turismo. That’s apparently on track for later this year.
“The first derivative to be added will be the Taycan Cross Turismo, pegged for late 2020,” Porsche confirmed today. It’s an aggressive roadmap, considering deliveries of the Taycan sedan only began in December 2019.
Exact specifications for the Taycan Cross Turismo haven’t been shared. Back when it first showed off the concept, Porsche suggested it could do 0-62 mph in under 3.5 seconds and would come with all-wheel drive as standard, along with an adaptive air suspension system that could raise and lower the car. Right now, we’d expect similar figures to those of the Taycan, albeit with a slight hit on performance given the more upright design.
After the Taycan Cross Turismo, another Porsche crossover EV
Beyond the Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo it’ll be the turn of a familiar name to get the electric treatment. Porsche already confirmed that the next-generation Macan would be electric, announcing at the start of 2019 that it had EV plans for its best-selling compact crossover.
Today, Porsche confirmed that it expects the EV crossover “to roll off the assembly line at the start of the 2020s.” It’ll be produced at the automaker’s expanded Leipzig plant, which has been given a complete makeover to manufacture Porsche’s electric models.
It’s a bold step. The Macan was Porsche’s best-selling vehicle in 2019, with almost 100,000 cars delivered worldwide. That’s growth of 16-percent over the previous year. It won’t be doing things by halves, either: “the next generation of compact SUVs under the Macan label will also be all-electric,” Porsche said today.
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Porsche has shared one of the first official shots of the upcoming Taycan Cross Turismo, the all-electric wagon-crossover sibling of the Taycan EV. Based on the striking Mission E Cross Turismo Concept shown off back in 2018, it’s a more upright, more practical version of an electric car than the Taycan, with Porsche sharing a few new tidbits as we wait for full launch details.
Second in the “Mission E” family of prototypes that went on to become Taycan cars, the Cross Turismo sits in a similar unusual niche as the Sport Turismo does to the Panamera. There, what traditionally might have been called a wagon gets a more sporting makeover, with a sharply angled rear hatchback that adds a little extra usability for cargo without unduly impacting on performance or style.
The Taycan Cross Turismo will follow a similar recipe. First, Porsche extends the roofline, which then flows back into Sport Turismo-esque angled glass. At the same time, though, the EV adds some extra ride height.
Exactly how much ride height has been added is unclear at this stage. The Panamera and Panamera Sport Turismo are basically the same on that front, but according to Stefan Weckbach, Taycan model line chief at Porsche, the Taycan Cross Turismo will have more talent in the rough stuff there.
“In order to enable it to handle light off-roading and gravel roads, we increased the ground clearance,” he explains. There’ll also be new settings for the air suspension, complete with more modes for different surfaces. “And we optimized our suspension system so the Cross Turismo comes with a CUV (cross utility vehicle) specific driving mode, called ‘gravel mode,'” Weckback says. “This makes sure it does well on gravel roads in terms of stability, performance, and dynamics.”
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It’s still unlikely to compete with full electric off-roaders, which are still in relatively short supply anyway, but it should give the EV the flexibility that crossover SUV owners are typically looking for. That’ll also include roof rails for tying down cargo, plus a more spacious second row of seats and a bigger trunk too.
The example in the images and video Porsche has shared is still “lightly camouflaged” the automaker says, with the final design of the Taycan Cross Turismo yet to be officially unveiled. Similarly mysterious at this point is when exactly that will happen, or indeed a commercial launch. Porsche’s original plan had been to bring it to market in 2020, but the ongoing pandemic forced a rethink there and the current timeframe is believed to be based around a full reveal in early 2021.
Nonetheless, even with that range expansion delay it seems the Taycan itself has been a hit. More than 20,000 examples of the EV were delivered in its first year of production, with Porsche looking to range and spec tweaks – as well as a more affordable rear-wheel drive variant – for the 2021 model year.
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