Charged Off-Road: Porsche Mission E Cross

Engineers at Porsche are busier these days understanding their customers’ lifestyles rather than fill automotive niches or fight for the fastest car title. Their latest Mission E Cross Turismo concept is a high-riding ski wagon with a 400km electric range, all-wheel drive for those hard-to-reach ski slopes and flexible interiors for long equipment.

Oh, did we mention that you could even deploy a drone to capture your drive experience?

Lounging lengthwise at 4.95 metres and a Murceilago-ish width of 1.99 metres, the Mission E Cross Turismo concept premiered at Geneva as the second concept in Porsche’s all electric Mission E portfolio. Despite those proportions, the presence of proper door handles, realistic 20-inch tyre dimensions and un-alien rim design clearly hint at a near production-ready status. Porsche is calling it a Cross Utility Vehicle (CUV) – as it stands somewhere between the estate Panamera and SUV Macan with some off-road capabilities. Twin electric permanent magnet synchronous motors (PSM) provide a combined 600hp all-wheel drive output and acceleration figures of 0 – 100km/h in less than 3.5s. Think that’s slower than a Ludicrous Tesla Model X? More on that later.

Besides the pulsating (while charging) blue E of the luminescent white Porsche logo, the front fascia on the Mission E Cross Turismo confirms the air intake headlight design that distinctly sets the electric line-up apart from its fuel-based counterparts. Seemingly inspired by the Alpine A110, the E Cross Turismo sports daytime running lights masquerading as air ducts on the bonnet (those weren’t there on the Mission E sedan concept from 2015). The matrix LED headlight alone is another work of art – with a four-point interchanging indicator/DRL function surrounding the high-performance full beams with Porsche X-sight technology. The lightwork continues in the rear with a charging pulsating E with circuit display. Mesmerizing indeed.

There’s also a lot of aero work that seems to have been stemmed down from the 911 GT2 and GT3 RS bloodline. Vertical air inlets in the front, known as air curtains, as well as air outlets behind the front wheels are designed to direct air around the wheel arches. This allows for visually appealing chunky tyres, 20-inch rims and wheel arch cladding to exist without having to succumb to stock Prius wheels in the name of drag reduction. With all-wheel steering, an adaptive air suspension that can change ground clearance by 2 inches and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC), the Cross Turismo is performance ready for both road and gravel.

Mission E interiors also get the futuristic treatment. Dubbed the Porsche Advanced cockpit, full TFT screens encompass the dash with a digital cluster, infotainment panel and even an third passenger display – clearly out-performing modern E class displays that were highly raved about. Eye-tracking in the rear-view mirror brings the display the driver is focusing on to the foreground while minimizing the others. There’s even one for the passenger for infotainment control. Touch screen displays extend down to the centre console before ending at what appears to be a touchpad. Clearly a lack of knobs and buttons (even the air-vents have individual touch screens) except for that drive mode switch on the steering wheel.

The lack of clutter is compounded with the spaciousness provided by the large panoramic glass roof that extends across the cabin. Interestingly littered with a diamond halftone pattern that grows in size towards the rear – perhaps for an Esplanade-ish glasshouse relief.

Automakers always aimed to address what they feel today’s Tesla models were lacking. General Motors felt the range was not enough. Rimac felt that ludicrous mode was not fast enough. Then there’s Porsche – they knew that electric car batteries losing their efficiency and limiting performance isn’t good for its beloved customers.

While Tesla models cut back on power due to battery heating issues and limit the number of times you can go on Ludicrous mode to prevent premature component wear, the E Cross Tursimo lets you drive like a proper Porsche driver – repeated acceleration sprints without any loss in performance even when the battery is close to depletion. That kind of electric performance is unmatched by any other electric vehicle today – and it is a lot more useful than having 2 carbon fibre helmets in the boot and holding the title for the fastest electric car (that means you - Rimac concept two).

For now, Porsche hasn’t released details on how it channels air towards battery cooling. What we know however, from the whole Mission E’s 800-volt lecture, is that it has an improved battery efficiency and reduced heat dissipation unlike the common 400-volt cars. That translates to a whole range of advantages over electric cars of today and puts the Cross Turismo uniquely ahead of competitors.

Considering how the 400km range might be insufficient, the Mission E 800-volt architecture and planned liquid cooled Turbo Charging network provides a fast charge to its total capacity in just over 15 minutes – not far off from Tesla’s supercharger network. For now, it remains flexibly compatible with regular charging networks, the fast charging networks from the joint IONITY venture (BMW, Mercedes, Ford and Volkswagen) and is even prepped for induction charging.

The sheer number of start-ups or unheard-of brands continue to spawn voltage wagons out of a “Tesla-ffic” David-Goliath inspiration that has proven that you don’t need to be a centuries-old automaker to make great cars. With an EV hungry China that is blatantly brand-unconscious, newcomers such as Rimac could go unfazed even after “Hamsterous” mishaps and boast their Concept 2.

Porsche has carefully taken a step away from the crowded EV space and made a leap towards a better electric car of the future in its own decadent rendition with the Cross Turismo.

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