Porsche Taycan Premiere and First Look Walkaround
Porsche sees electrification as the future of the automobile, and all-new Taycan is only the beginning.
Niagara Falls served as backdrop for the most important Porsche event of the decade as the brand finally unveiled its first fully-electric production vehicle. It’s called Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn) and it’s a game changer.
First things first, Porsche has made their electric car sexy, and desirable. It’s a very good looking ride in person, and heavily inspired by current Porsche models, like the 911 and Panamera. For perspective, despite being a “four door coupe” (bless the Germans), it’s a full segment size smaller than the Panamera. Though, being some 17 inches longer than the 911, it manages to look low-slung; long, low and with wide hips.
Porsche is set on Taycan being the future of the brand, and claims that, by 2022, it will have spent more than $6.6 billion dollars on electric mobility. That accounts for electric vehicle development, as well as, crucially, the infrastructure to support it. Porsche has updated its Zuffenhausen facility to handle electric car production, charging and servicing. Additionally, the company has promoted electrical infrastructure building across the United States with the Volkswagen Group’s Electrify America program, which will get even more electric charging points on roadways, urban and suburban locations as well as Porsche’s 191 dealerships in the U.S.
Interestingly, despite being an electric vehicle, Taycan is set to follow the naming conventions used on models like 911, Macan and Panamera. At launch Porsche is offering the top of the line models first, with lower end models being introduced within the next two years. As such, buyers can currently choose from two models, called Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S. Yes, it’s an electric car with the word “Turbo” in the name, get over it.
Let’s talk hardware. Under the skin, situated in the floor, are 396 battery cells. That’s 1,389 pounds of electric power that turns all four wheels of the Taycan via two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, one per axle. With Taycan Turbo, that’s good for 670 horsepower and 626 pound-feet of torque. On the Taycan Turbo S there’s 750 horsepower and a whopping 774 pound-feet of torque to play with.
Interestingly, Porsche shuffles the power through a two-speed transmission. Most EVs on sale forego the complication of a transmission and use a direct drive system, instead. Porsche says the extra engineering required to build a transmission that can withstand the instant torque delivery of the Taycan was a worthwhile endeavor because the use of a transmission improves acceleration, especially at high speed.
Speaking of acceleration and speed, Porsche claims the Taycan Turbo S can sprint from 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, run the 1/4-mile in 10.8 seconds and has a top speed of 161 MPH. Porsche further claims that unlike some of the competition, these figures can be done repeatedly, back-to-back, with no notable degradation in performance. The official U.S. range has not yet been certified, but based on the European test cycle, and some rough math, it should equal about 280 miles of electric range.
Of course, being a Porsche, it has to do more than just go fast in a straight line. Indeed, Porsche claims that the Taycan is a genuine driver’s car and says it has true sporting credentials, and, on paper, the math checks out. Taycan utilizes a sports car-like suspension setup, with double wishbones up front and a multilink rear suspension. It rides on adaptive air suspension, with a electro-mechanical steering. Rear-axle steering is available on Taycan Turbo and standard on Taycan Turbo S to further improve low speed agility and high speed stability.
The suspension setup sounds promising, and the wheel and tire package equally so. Taycan Turbo rolls on 20-inch “Turbo Aero” wheels, which measure 20x9 up front and 20x11 out back with a 245/45R20 and 285/40R20 sized tire, respectively. The Turbo S goes even bigger with 21-inch Mission E design wheels that measure 20x9.5 and 20x11.5 with 265/35R21 and 305/30R21 rubber.
That’s a lot of wheel and tire, but Taycan is a lot of car with that 1,389 pounds-worth of batteries contributing to a weight of 5,132 pounds. Fortunately, those big wheels help house big brakes to slow the Taycan down. Said brakes are actually some of the largest ever fitted to a production car. Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes (PCCB) are available on Turbo and standard on Turbo S. They feature 10 (Yes, TEN) piston front calipers, which clamp down on rotors that measure 420 millimeters in diameter and are 40 millimeters wide. That’s 16.5-inches by 1.6-inches. Holy crap. Once you factor in the size of the enormous calipers, the Taycan literally cannot fit a wheel smaller than 20-inches in diameter. The rear brakes are also no joke, with four piston calipers and a still eye-popping 410x32mm rotor. Taycan really is ready for any hard driving or track day antics you can throw at it.
The interior also features a blend of hallmark Porsche traits, combined with cutting edge tech. There are four sport bucket seats inside, as well as an alcantara-wrapped steering wheel. The Turbo S model even has the Sport Chrono package, dash-mounted clock and all. From there, Taycan uses screens, and a lot of them, offering a very digital feel. The instrument cluster is a digital display with a heavily curved screen, perhaps the first use of this tech in an automobile. The center command system is a iPad-inspired screen, for HVAC and charging controls, with another screen in the dash showing radio, nav and other common tech goodies. Interestingly, Porsche offers the option of a second parallel screen to be installed next to this, for added passenger access and convenience. It’s overwhelming at first, but easy enough to acclimate to. The overall interior ergonomics are excellent, and Taycan can fit front seat occupants up to about 6’6” and rear seat occupants around 6’1”, though the rear footwell can be a bit tight.
This all sounds great, but there’s an asterisk. It’s a minute one, but one still worth noting. The Taycan Turbo has a starting MSRP of $150,900. The Taycan Turbo S starts at a cool $185,000, before options, which, knowing Porsche, there will be many. It’s a lot of dough, but it’s a ton of car. Taycan has some of the most impressive hardware on the market, and while it’s a big ask cash-wise, the brand’s well-heeled clientele can swing it. Porsche can barely make enough $200,000+ 911 Turbos and GT3 RS models to meet demand, Taycan will be the same. In fact, Porsche claims some 20,000 deposits have already been taken on Taycan. Porsche’s future is here, and it’s electric.
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