It took an unexpected detour with the slightly-ruggedised Cross Turismo, but finally, Porsche did the right thing by offering up a proper wagon version of their Taycan. It’s called the Sport Turismo, mirroring the treatment given to second-generation Panamera in its more practical form.
This is the easiest Porsche reveal to figure out too, which is unusual. Just take the Taycan Cross Turismo and take out the ‘cross’ bits. No unnecessary wheel arch/perimeter cladding, no extra ride height. Just a Taycan with an extended roofline and a boot that opens with a hatch. Mission accomplished.
Arguably, this is what the majority of fans were expecting. I’d bet nobody was itching to take their Taycan on some rough stuff or go mountain biking halfway down a mountain with an electric Porsche; it just seems like a…..mismatch.
The Taycan Sport Turismo was revealed as the GTS alongside its four-door saloon twin, but the body style is expected to be eventually available to most (if not all) variants of the EV, from the base-level ‘Taycan’ to the Turbo S.
It takes some effort to get your head around how Porsche structures its variants, but once you’re up to speed you’ll pretty quickly identify the brief of a somewhat “more-aggressive-but-not-quite-range-topper” being a GTS.
It’s actually one of the newest variant tiers or trim levels offered by the automaker but started with the 997-era 911 GTS before spreading to the Cayenne, Cayman, Boxster, and even Macan. It’s only natural that the Taycan follows suit.
This which is why I immediately thought it would be the newest Taycan when Porsche announced its forthcoming reveal for the Los Angeles Motor Show. Unfortunately, I neglected to inform anybody of my profound powers of Porsche deduction, and couldn’t reap the rewards of being smug when proven right.
If you’re familiar with the GTS treatment, it’s basically giving you more performance than the standard versions of a given Porsche, but not enough to worry the truly upper crust variants. It’ll also throw in some sportier interior touches from the GT3 (or equivalent) and perhaps some chassis enhancements for good measure. Black wheels are very much also a GTS thing.
This Taycan, no matter the roofline flavour, comes standard with the larger 93.4kWh battery. Its dual electric motors generate 598PS, very neatly sandwiching it between the Taycan 4S (571PS) and Taycan Turbo (680PS). However, Porsche has given the GTS a tweaked version of its Electric Sport Sound, so the car will be humming a sportier tune while it otherwise silently glides past.
Meanwhile, torque matches the Turbo’s 850Nm, though the GTS arrives at 100km/h from rest 0.5s slower at 3.5 seconds. In terms of range, it’ll manage up to 504km on a combined cycle (WLTP) or up to 625km if driven more conservatively around town.
Inside the Taycan GTS, the leather is pretty much gone now and seen only as accents, replaced with microsuede/Alcantara-like material that Porsche calls Race-Tex. It’s all dark grey and is sort of velvety in texture, so it fits the bill. Couple that with the usual contrasting stitch work and further splashing of dark tones and interior highlights, and that’s the GTS' interior motif fulfilled.
Of course, this being a Porsche, you can customise this as well as the exterior to your heart’s content, though your wallet might wince involuntarily on your behalf.
Speaking of extras, a new option introduced on the GTS is a panoramic roof with Sunshine Control, which can turn the mostly transparent roof to opaque at the touch of a button through an electrically activated liquid crystal film layer incorporated into the glass roof.
The roof itself is divided into nine segments that can be switched individually, which Porsche says is a world first in the automotive sector.
Keyword: Porsche Unveils Taycan GTS, Sport Turismo - A Real Wagon This Time!