German automobile brand, Porsche recently celebrated its 70th anniversary in the industry, and the ‘70 years of sports car’ ceremony took place mid-June.
For the occasion, Porsche also announced a new concept car called the 911 Speedster Concept. Fans of the automotive giant were revved up at the news, and before they could catch their breath again, Porsche announced the name of its forthcoming all-electric sports car.
The ‘Taycan’
Porsche always names its models meaningfully, and Taycan means “a spirited young horse” or “a lively young horse” which is a reminiscent of the high-end brand’s logo with a stallion on it.
Mission E, with ‘e’ standing for ‘electric’, was first introduced in 2015 as a multi-year plan to develop an electric sports car. And now, Porsche CEO, Oliver Blume, has announced that the Mission E has an official name- Taycan. The series production of this first-ever purely electric Porsche is all set to begin next year, and its market launch is anticipated to be in 2020.
The speed range of the Taycan is set to blow minds, and it would be highly recommended to get a car insurance. With speed, comes a price and a Porsche does not lag in either.
The automobile is set to have two permanently excited magnate synchronous motors (PSM) positioned on both the axles which will generate 600PS of power, yielding a system output of 400 kilowatts. The PSM technology being used here by Porsche is also used by Nissan and the likes.
The electric sports car can accelerate to 100km/h in under 3.5 seconds and to 200km/h in under 12 seconds. The range of the vehicle will be close to 500 kms, measured in accordance with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The engine of the beat goes up all the way to 600bhp.
Two-speed gearboxes will be used to keep acceleration strong all the way to the top speed. It is probable that this two-speed gearbox will be at the back and the front will have a decoupling clutch. The rear motor of the car is to be more powerful than the front.
Porsche has also confirmed the use of ‘computer-blended brakes’. The mechanism of this breaking system works is that the pedal is not a mechanical link to the discs but rather a request for retardation which is then used by a computer to figure out whether to get that retardation from the motors or the discs.
Also offered in the spacious 4-seater are multiple jump-starts, without any compromise on the performance.
Blume called Taycan ‘strong’ and ‘dependable’, and ‘a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomizes freedom.’
The Competition
Since the announcement of Mission E, fanatics have been waiting to see how it competes with the Tesla model 3 released in July 2017. Porsche plans on outdoing Tesla when it comes to charging, as Tesla’s superchargers offer 480 volts and Porsche is working on 800V infrastructure to charge the Taycan as well as the automobiles which will succeed it.
Porsche’s head of Electrics/Electronics Development, Uew Michael said that Taycan would be able to charge twice as fast as Model S. The Taycan is also set to boast a range of 310 miles in a single charge with Taycan’s high-voltage superchargers.
The big car shows of 2019 are to be looked forward to for the reveal of the Taycan. It was also suggested by CEO Blume that by the year 2030, all Porsche vehicles may turn out to be fully electric.
While we wait eagerly for the first look of the Taycan, we also have the 911 Speedster Concept to look forward to. While both of these have been debuted at arguably the same time, we are keen to see which one is released first.
