A test mule for the upcoming all-electric Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo estate has been caught on camera during its handling assessment
Since 2015, Porsche has been developing an all-electric four-door GT to rival the Tesla Model S. We’ve already seen the saloon undergoing testing and, over the past couple of months, we’ve gradually caught glimpses of the German firm’s planned Taycan Sport Turismo estate version.
This well-worn track-based mule is our latest look at the car and, apart from its taped-up body panels, scuffed diffuser and missing fake exhaust tip, it provides a decent indication of how the production model will look.
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The Taycan Sport Turismo is near identical to the Taycan saloon from the front, sharing the same headlights and bumper design. At the rear, however, the saloon’s boot and sloping roofline have been replaced by a shooting brake-style extended cabin, new rear windows, a revised boot spoiler and a fresh tailgate.
Our latest images follow spy shots from the Arctic of another prototype, which was tasked with testing the limits of the car’s charging and energy storage system. Porsche is pushing the Taycan’s range and charging capabilities as selling points so, given that electric motors and batteries are usually less efficient in cold climates, it’s conducting plenty of research.
We expect the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo will feature the same drivetrain as the saloon. Final specifications have yet to be confirmed, but Porsche’s engineers have revealed it will develop over 600bhp, which should allow a 0-62mph time of 3.5 seconds, a 0-124mph time of less than 12 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.
Range is targeted at 310 miles, and Porsche claims the 800-volt charging system can take on 62 miles worth of juice in four minutes, or almost 250 miles in 15 minutes. All-wheel drive is also expected to be standard on all variants initially, although Porsche could launch a more affordable rear-wheel-drive version later in the model’s life-span.
The interior of the Taycan estate should be similar to the saloon’s, with the same ‘four-plus-one’ seating format. Peering through the front windscreen of this latest mule indicates that a production-ready version of the freestanding infotainment system, previewed by the 2015 Porsche Mission E concept, will also feature.
Porsche’s new Taycan Sport Turismo estate falls in line with the company’s planned line-up expansion. It is likely to follow the Taycan saloon into the showrooms during 2020, after its launch in the second half of this year.
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