Photo: Porsche
Porsche's initiative to open up the doors to its development center and let all sorts of previously unseen concepts fly out is something we'd love for other manufacturers to replicate.
Seeing how certain models could have ended up looking like if one decision went a different way or getting an insight into what the company was considering for production at some point is not the kind of information we get treated to on a regular basis.
Usually, car companies only allow us to see what they deem as the finished product and the concepts that led to that design. Everything else that went into making that model is put into conservation, or worse. Well, it looks like Porsche is now bringing some of the could-have-beens into the light, and the more we see, the giddier we get.
We've already been treated to quite a selection, from a Le Mans Hypercar to a red egg-shaped van that has to be one of the least Porsche-like vehicle we've seen wearing the brand's name. Now, we're shown the 2016 Porsche Vision Turismo, a model that can be described in many ways.
You could say it's a four-door 918 Spyder, for example, but calling it a Panamera with some 918 styling would be just as accurate. Four-door 718 Cayman would stand as well, and given its size, it would probably be the most adequate.
For the time being, we'll just call it the Taycan's grandfather because that's what it ended up being. Porsche was toying with the idea of a super sports car with four doors and a rear engine when it came up with the Vision Turismo, but the Germans quickly realized this configuration would be better suited for an all-electric drivetrain.
Obviously, the size of the engine and the transmission meant the GT capabilities of the Vision Turismo would be seriously hampered, a problem the EV powertrain did not pose. Porsche says the concept (a full-scale hard model) served as a blueprint for the development of the company's first EV, which means it first had to give birth to Taycan's father, the Mission E.
Anyone who's followed the evolution of Porsche's electric sports car knows how that unfolded, which makes seeing what came even before that so much cooler. The fact the Vision Turismo is one of the most beautiful Porsches we've seen lately also helps.
Usually, car companies only allow us to see what they deem as the finished product and the concepts that led to that design. Everything else that went into making that model is put into conservation, or worse. Well, it looks like Porsche is now bringing some of the could-have-beens into the light, and the more we see, the giddier we get.
We've already been treated to quite a selection, from a Le Mans Hypercar to a red egg-shaped van that has to be one of the least Porsche-like vehicle we've seen wearing the brand's name. Now, we're shown the 2016 Porsche Vision Turismo, a model that can be described in many ways.
You could say it's a four-door 918 Spyder, for example, but calling it a Panamera with some 918 styling would be just as accurate. Four-door 718 Cayman would stand as well, and given its size, it would probably be the most adequate.
For the time being, we'll just call it the Taycan's grandfather because that's what it ended up being. Porsche was toying with the idea of a super sports car with four doors and a rear engine when it came up with the Vision Turismo, but the Germans quickly realized this configuration would be better suited for an all-electric drivetrain.
Obviously, the size of the engine and the transmission meant the GT capabilities of the Vision Turismo would be seriously hampered, a problem the EV powertrain did not pose. Porsche says the concept (a full-scale hard model) served as a blueprint for the development of the company's first EV, which means it first had to give birth to Taycan's father, the Mission E.
Anyone who's followed the evolution of Porsche's electric sports car knows how that unfolded, which makes seeing what came even before that so much cooler. The fact the Vision Turismo is one of the most beautiful Porsches we've seen lately also helps.
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