With Sport Turismo Concept, Porsche Mines Rich Lines From an Unlikely Source

September 27, 2012, 11:36 am

By JERRY GARRETT

PARIS - A Porsche station wagon? What a concept. No, you have not been punk'd.

A station wagon is exactly what Porsche officially unveiled here on Thursday. Perhaps the only thing more curious than the notion of a Porsche wagon is that the Panamera Sport Turismo concept is an uncommonly beautiful example of the species. The Stuttgart faithful have been surprisingly resilient as their brand has expanded from sports coupes and roadsters to S.U.V.'s and a sedan, models that have buoyed the company's bottom line globally. What's next, a pickup?

The wagon concept is based on the styling of the rather ungainly Panamera sedan. But unlike that polarizing model, the wagon seems well-proportioned. It could pass for a lowered, chopped and customized Cayenne - another jarring thought, no doubt, for the unconverted.

Somewhat counterintuitively, the Sport Turismo is not intended to provide the extra room needed for sheets of plywood, a pallet of Löwenbräu or three rows of soccer players. Much of the extra space is claimed by the various components needed for its hybrid powertrain.

Porsche said the concept was powered by the next generation of the hybrid system found in the Panamera S Hybrid. Between its supercharged 3-liter V-6 engine and 95-horsepower electric motor, the Sport Turismo would produce 416 horsepower, good for sub-6-second runs from zero to 60 miles per hour, the brand asserted.

Porsche also said it would be possible with this hybrid system to travel for as much as 18 miles solely on the power of its new lithium-ion battery pack, at speeds up to 80 m.p.h. The car's default mode is electric drive, to the point that a button must be pushed to summo n the internal combustion engine, presuming the battery pack, with a 9.4-kilowatt-hour capacity, is charged. A depleted pack, Porsche said, could be recharged in about 2.5 hours on household current.

With the Panamera expected to receive a midcycle facelift soon, the Sport Turismo may offer a strong hint at the direction Porsche may take. That said, executives were coy about production prospects for the Sport Turismo.