Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo breaks cover

Conventional fast estate not doing it for you? Here comes a 700hp EV one...

By Matt Bird / Tuesday, 21 July 2020 / Loading comments

It's an indisputable fact that fast estates are cooler than whatever car they're derived from, be that Mercedes-AMG E63, Cupra Leon, Aston Martin Vanquish or anything else you care to mention. It even extends to EVs, too - because who wouldn't prefer a Tesla Model S Shooting Brake to the conventional hatch?

Now the EV estate ranks are set to be joined by Porsche, which is wasting no time in growing its Taycan range with a Cross Turismo variant. We knew the car was coming - the Mission E Cross Turismo was confirmed for production back in 2018 - and it's been seen on track previously, but this is our first look at the CT on the road.

Immediately this Cross Turismo looks more road-biased than the Allroad-style concept, and is very familiar as a Taycan up to the top of the windscreen. But then there are the roof rails - like all the best estate cars - and a glasshouse altered to create the more accommodating load bay. In profile it's clearly less sleek than a Taycan hatch, but is certainly a wagon in the mould of the existing Panamera Sport Turismo than more conventional load luggers like the RS6 and E63. The back end, once more, is very clearly a Taycan, despite Porsche's attempts at disguising it, albeit now with a more pronounced roof spoiler.

Other points of note include the plastic edging for the wheelarches, suggesting some kind of all-terrain offering might actually be offered. If that's true, they contrast quite noticeably with the track-focused ceramic brake option, as marked out by the yellow calipers. The sheer size of the tyres here would also imply that this is a more powerful Taycan, a Turbo or a Turbo S, rather than one of the lesser-powered models.

Back in 2018, Porsche said that a production version of the Mission E Cross Turismo would be in production for 2021; and there's no way a mere global health crisis is going to stop the Stuttgart product plan, so next year still looks a safe bet. Expect the entire Taycan range to be offered in the Cross Turismo bodystyle, which means that a overboost enabled 761hp ought to be on the cards. You can start writing the gags about how uncomfortable the dog will be in a warp speed Turbo S pretty soon, and look forward to seeing a virtual reveal later in the year.