Porsche Prepares a Hot Electric SUV to Tackle Tesla

In This Article:

Porsche's latest show car is a ferociously quick all-electric crossover SUV -- and it could be headed to production.

Porsche executives hint that the Mission E Cross Turismo, revealed at this week's Geneva International Motor Show, could become the brand's second Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) challenger, following the production version of the Mission E sports sedan due next year. Here's what we know about it.

The Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo, a low-slung white SUV, on Porsche's show stand at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018.
The Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo, a low-slung white SUV, on Porsche's show stand at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018.

Porsche's Mission E Cross Turismo is an all-electric high-performance crossover SUV. Porsche executives hint that it could be headed for production. Image source: Porsche.

What it is: An all-electric high-performance luxury crossover

As you'd expect from the name, the Mission E Cross Turismo is based on the architecture Porsche has developed for the Mission E, the electric four-door fastback it's expected to put into production in 2019. It's a low-slung crossover SUV that's about the same length as Porsche's Cayenne SUV -- 4950 millimeters (194.9 inches).

Like the Mission E, the Cross Turismo is a dual-motor all-wheel-drive design that uses Porsche's 800-volt electric architecture, which will allow very fast recharging as well as plug-free induction charging. Porsche didn't give detailed range estimates for the Cross Turismo, but it did say it could be recharged to "around 250 miles" of range in just over 15 minutes.

Porsche said the Cross Turismo's motors together generate over 600 horsepower, enough to accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in less than 3.5 seconds, and to 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph) in under 12 seconds. (And in what is surely intended as a jab at Tesla's battery-eating Ludicrous Mode, Porsche promises that the Cross Turismo will be able to make multiple fast-acceleration runs in quick succession without any loss of performance.)

A view of the Mission E Cross Turismo's front seats and dash.
A view of the Mission E Cross Turismo's front seats and dash.

Some show cars are pure flights of designer fancy, but Porsche's Mission E Cross Turismo looks nearly ready for production, inside and out. Image source: Porsche.

Will Porsche build it? Signs say yes

An Automotive News report, citing sources within Porsche, said that a production version of the Cross Turismo could appear in about 2021, two years after the start of Mission E production. The thinking is that the timing will allow Porsche's new electric-vehicle factory in Zuffenhausen to fill the initial rush of orders for the Mission E. Porsche would then launch the new model just as Mission E orders begin to subside, in order to keep the new factory running at full speed.