Porsche's new all-electric SUV concept is too pretty to go off-road

Last year, Porsche unveiled the production version of the Mission E — an all-electric four-door that looked like a worthy rival to Tesla’s Model S. The Mission E isn’t going on sale until the end of 2019, but that isn’t stopping Porsche from iterating on the design. Today at the Geneva Motor Show, the German automaker is showing off its answer to Tesla’s Model X: the Mission E Cross Turismo.

The Cross Turismo is a so-called concept study rather than a production-ready design, and it’s full of fanciful design touches. LED lights dance around and across the illuminated Porsche logo at the back. The Porsche badge up front is rendered in monochrome, the wheels are styled out in a deep blue, and the interior is replete with futuristic patterns and decorations. A wireless charging pad sits in between the two rear seats. The headlights, or rather the LED array that constitutes the headlights, are also a mix of familiar undulating curves and more angular neo-futurism. All of which is to say that Porsche is more exercising its design muscles than offering us a concrete look at its future plans.

Porsche is calling this car a “CUV,” or cross utility vehicle, which the company explains is basically a more refined version of an SUV. It has a number of rugged style elements, including protected wheel arches, a higher ride height, fog lamps, and chunky tires. But the overall look is neither heavy nor bulky — the Mission E Cross Turismo is slim, and, thanks to recognizable touches like the tail lamp band, identifiable as a Porsche.

If it ever gets made, the Cross Turismo should handle like a Porsche too. It’s built on the same basic frame as the Mission E, so that means two electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear, which give it a top speed of 155mph and take it from 0 to 62mph in 3.5 seconds and to 125mph in less than 12 seconds. The car also has a range of just under 250 miles, and is compatible with Europe’s growing fast-charging network.

Inside, everything is minimal and uncluttered, but dominated by screens. There’s an 11-inch display for infotainment on the dash and a HUD projected onto the bottom of the windscreen. There’s also a screen in the center console for things like climate controls and — this is a concept car, remember — operating the drone that lives in the trunk. You can see how this is supposed to work in the promo video below: