SUV joins Porsche electric push

All the details on forthcoming Porsche EVS, due in 2020

Jonathan_burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn

PORSCHE is forging ahead with its electrification plans and the German firm has announced that a version of the Mission E Cross Turismo show car (right) will go into production.

The concept was first presented at this year’s Geneva Motor Show and it previews a shooting brake version of the manufacturer’s first electric vehicle, the Taycan saloon.

Prototypes have already been spotted testing on public roads, and it’s likely the Cross Turismo will go on sale in 2020. Porsche has promised a range of 310 miles and as much as 600bhp.

However, Porsche officials have also confirmed that a fully electric SUV is also planned. Speaking to Auto Express, Porsche’s deputy chairman, Lutz Meschke, said: “You can expect an SUV BEV (battery electric vehicle) by 2022 at the latest.”

It’s understood that Porsche is still deciding upon which platform the model will be based – and whether it will be a standalone EV SUV or a pure-electric version of the next-generation Macan.

The VW Group’s upcoming MEB architecture is one option, but Audi and Porsche are also working on another EV platform, called Premium Platform Electric (PPE), that will be better suited to larger four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Porsche’s upcoming range of EVS is part of a six-billion-euro (£5.3bn) investment that will kick in with the Taycan saloon next year. That project is nearing the final stages and prototype models are being built by hand at a rate of two units per day at Porsche’s factory in Zuffenhausen, Germany.

These vehicles will join an intensive test programme ahead of the production car’s official debut, which is expected to be at next year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Sales have yet to officially begin but Porsche claims to have received upwards of 10,000 requests.

The four-door saloon format is described as a ‘four plus one’, with space for luggage front and rear, while the driving position is “almost identical to the 911’s”, according to Robert Meier, the Taycan’s model line director.

Porsche is also toying with the idea of offering buyers temporary or permanent ‘over-the-air’ upgrade features such as the option to boost the car’s battery performance or chassis set-up.

Green Light for Mission E Cross Turismo Pure-electric SUV also planned