GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo busts out

Porsche has stunned onlookers at the Geneva motor show with a bullet-fast crossover concept based on its upcoming Mission E electric sedan.

If the Mission E is Porsche's answer to Tesla's Model S sedan, the Mission E Cross Turismo is its Model X SUV fighter.

The Mission E Cross Turismo concept car is officially a feasibility study examining whether the world is ready for an all-electric "cross utility vehicle".

Unofficially, it is already a fully worked up prototype, heading into production as a follow-up to next year's Mission E four-door sedan, with ferocious performance and crunching acceleration.

The 4.95-metre machine is claimed to whip to 100km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to beyond 200km/h less than nine seconds later.

Porsche hasn't claimed a top speed for the concept car, but it thumps out 440kW of power, or 600hp, from its two permanent magnet synchronous motors (PSMs).

It is enough power to tempt Porsche into making some monster claims for the Mission E Cross Turismo.

In a direct shot at Tesla -- the world’s most famous electric car-maker -- Porsche insisted the concept car’s "level of continuous power is unmatched by any other electric vehicle.

"Multiple accelerations are possible in direct succession without loss of performance," Porsche said.

"The Mission E Cross Turismo is an expression of how we envision the all-electric future," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said.

"It combines sportiness and everyday practicality in unique style. Our vehicle will be fast to drive, but also quick to recharge and able to replicate its performance time after time," he said.

The crossover is geared up for fast-charging and, like the Mission E, is pre-engineered to accept 800-volt charging for a claimed 80 per cent recharge in less than 15 minutes.

It can also be charged inductively or by fitting a Porsche home energy storage system (also known as a big battery) in your home.

It also builds on the Mission E’s sleek design, retaining the surfacing and design language of the sedan with some obvious off-road touches like underbody protection at the front and rear and greater wheel travel.

Its interior features a new curved touch-screen, but people may not even have to reach that far, because it also delivers eye-tracking control to its infotainment operating system.

Meantime, while it may have been pre-released before the show, the '991.2' series Porsche 911 GT3 RS showed that developing electric cars hasn’t diminished Porsche’s enthusiasm for developing highly stressed petrol-powered engines.

The GT3 RS thumps out 383kW of power from its 4.0-litre engine, or well over 120 horsepower per litre in older terms.

The most powerful naturally-aspirated flat six cylinder engine Porsche has ever built, the GT3 RS’s motor doesn’t reach its peak until a stratospheric 9000rpm, and you can count the number of 9000rpm series-production cars ever built on one hand.

It delivers 15kW more power and, at 470Nm, 10Nm more than the GT3 RS from three years ago.

That’s enough to punch the rear-drive GT3 RS to 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds, then haul it to a top speed of 312km/h.

That would be higher, but for the aerodynamic drag of its enormous rear wing, with Porsche preferring to use air to glue cars down in the track mid-corner than to hunt theoretical top speeds.

Its entire existence has been geared towards track pace, with rear-axle steering, a rapid-fire seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and tailored aerodynamics.

The latest GT3 RS is also a featherweight, with more expensive light-weight options pulling it down as low as 1430kg.

There’s a no-cost option (fortunately, given the entry ticket of $416,500, plus on-road costs) for a Clubsport pack that includes a roll cage, fire extinguisher, six-point harness and a kill switch for the battery.