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Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo concept is a plug-in shooting brake

The shooting break -- basically a long and low sporty station wagon -- isn't exactly a huge hit in the United States, but in Europe Porsche is pushing that body style to a new level with the Sport Turismo. It's a concept of what it believes a future, hatchback version of its Panamera four-seater grand tourer might look like. But, look beyond the dramatic styling and distinctive LED headlights, and there's plenty of tech to be spotted. Details after the break.

The Sport Turismo concept is a plug-in hybrid, battery pack living in the rear hatch and, unusually, exposed to the world through a glass panel that turns clear at the touch of a button. Porsche is actually showing off the battery pack, not hiding it like most. Fully charge the car and you can drive about 19 miles (30km) using only the 95 horsepower electric engine. But, when you're looking to drive a bit more spiritedly you'll want to also call in the 333 horsepower supercharged V6 that resides under the hood. The combined power of the two get you to 60 in under six seconds -- while delivering an estimated 67MPG.

The interior is naturally pretty trick, too. Cameras built in the side mirrors pump their images to small displays flanking the digital tachometer. The center stack has been completely deleted, replaced by what looks like a tablet seated in between the seats. It isn't -- it's permanently affixed -- but using the touch interface you control the climate system, navigation and even control the traction control and power distribution of the whole thing.

For those times when you want to control the car from the outside, a smartphone app will let you do things like schedule charging to get the cheapest rates, pre-condition the climate control to make sure it's warm or cool enough for you and even get directions back to your car should you forgot just where in long-term parking you left it. Sadly there's no app to tell us when, or if, the Sport Turismo might go into production, but with the Panamera already shipping around the world, and Porsche getting closer to releasing advanced hybrids like the 918 Spyder, a car like this could hit production very soon indeed.

Steve Dent contributed to this post.