Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S
Last year I drove the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, a white-hot all-electric fever dream capable of howling from 0 to 100kph in just 2.8 seconds. It was a glimpse into the exciting future of supercars, in an alt-fuel reality that was rapidly approaching. It was hard to imagine what would come next. But Porsche had a plan.
WATCH IT HERE:
And this is it. And if there’s a word that seldom comes to the fore when discussing hypercars, wagon must be it. Meet the gravel travel adjacent Cross Turismo, a sporty electric tourer dressed in Haute Couture mud pants. In fact, styling is reminiscent of the E Cross Turismo concept we salivated over two years ago. Compared to that original Taycan coupe however, the Cross Turismo gets more room inside especially the area above the rear occupants’ heads thanks to a more gratuitous roofline. Boot space too is improved and the air suspension now enjoys height adjustability because besides being practical, it’s meant to go almost anywhere too, it is after all all-wheel drive. And go almost anywhere, as quick as it bloody wants.
Because under the Off-Road Design package, beats the digital heart of the Turbo S. Porsche’s 4D chassis control is in full effect, calculating surfaces in real-time to turn all but the most corrugated surfaces into pillows under its tyres. It’s working alongside Porsche’s active and adaptive air suspension, torque vectoring, and stability management to reign in the full might of its vast power reserves. The Taycan enjoys 800 volts where your typical EV must make do with 400. If you find yourself at the helm of the range-topping Turbo S for example, it comes equipped with Performance battery Plus with 93.4 kWh, so you’ll have 460kW and 1050Nm at your disposal – or, an overboosted 560kW when engaging in launch control. So don’t be fooled with the Turbo S’s new mud-battling aesthetic, it’ll still happily dice petrol-burning in-house opposition from even the likes of the mighty 911 Turbo S. Good because I cannot stress this enough – this is where the performance car is headed, and there’s no need to fear a lack of twisting in the viscera, nor a lack of sensation.
If this is more gusto than you require, look further down the catalogue and you’ve got the regular Turbo model beneath it, then the 4S, and lastly at the lowest rung the regular Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. Here you’ll find performance a bit more grounded, a mere 280kW and 500Nm, or 350kW at launch. So instead of annihilating the 100kph mark in 2.9 seconds, you’ll have to make do with completing it in 5,1. Not bad for an entry-level electric runt, yours for 94,000 Euro and with optional bicycle carriers.
So in summary, last year, I called the original Taycan ‘the thinking man’s humble flex’. Well, this is more of that, still flexing, just with a bit more bulk. I can’t wait to get my hands on one.
Taycan Cross Turismo pricing
Base R2,511,000
4S R2,619,000
Turbo R3,459,000
All inclusive with the 3 year/100 000 km Driveplan
