Porsche’s Game-Changing Electric Car
The Porsche Taycan was revealed today at 9 am. In an extremely elaborate showing of the car, the company had the live stream presentation span across three locations around the world: Germany, Canada, and China. After a whole lot of discussion about what the Taycan means for Porsche and the company’s commitment to sustainability and the electrification of future cars, they finally took the wraps off of the automobile.
Performance
The Porsche Taycan is a high-performance four-door sports car. There are two versions of the car the Taycan Turbo and the Taycan Turbo S. The Turbo S can put out 560 kw (about 750 hp) and 1,050 NM (774 lb-ft) of torque. The Taycan Turbo is rated at a slightly lower 500 kw (670 hp).
Both models can do a top speed of 260 km/h (about 161 mph). The Turbo S will do 0-62 mph in just 2.8 seconds and 0-124 mph in just 9.8 seconds. The Turbo will do the 0-62 mph sprint in 3.2 seconds.
In terms of range, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S can travel 450 km (about 280 miles) per charge. The Taycan Turbo can do 412 km (about 256 miles) per charge.
When it comes to charging, the car features a special 270 kW charging system. The Taycan is the first electric car in the world to use an 800-volt system instead of the traditional 400-volt system. This system enables the car to charge up to 100 km (about 62 miles) in just five minutes. You can charge up to 80 percent of the battery capacity in just 22.5 minutes. The 93.4 kWh battery for the car is housed in the floor between the axles and this helps give the car lower center of gravity than the Porsche 911.
The Porsche Taycan is an all-wheel-drive machine, and Porsche spent a lot of time developing a next-generation, all-wheel-drive system. The car features two different electric motors (one at either axle) and a two-speed transmission on the rear axle. This special two-speed transmission allows the car to make the most of the electric power coming from the motors.
The Exterior and Interior
It wasn’t all about performance, though. Porsche took time to discuss the styling of the car. The Taycan pulls from Porsches’ rich racing car history, including the Porsche 919 Le Man’s racer and the Porsche 918 Spyder. The exterior of the car was optimized for aerodynamics and the car has a drag coefficient of just 0.22. That’s part of what allows the model to be so efficient.
Inside the car pulls from the 911 and other models, keeping with the Porsche tradition. Despite this, the car offers some unique features, including several touchscreen displays. Porsche released images of the interior ahead of the debut and we recently reported on the car’s cabin. It looks very Porsche and that’s a good thing.
Everything in the Porsche is connected, too. This enables the company to make over-the-air updates to the infotainment system, chassis systems, etc. It brings the Taycan up to the level—and likely beyond—the competition like Tesla.
The Impact of the Taycan
The car is a serious move for the company and will mark a notable change in the industry. Porsche’s boss Oliver Blume said that the car is the company’s effort to redefine Porsche in an efficient and sustainable but still sporty way. Porsche talked a lot about Porsches’ move towards electric cars.
It’s investing heavily in electrified cars and sustainability. The company will spend billions in the coming years focusing on electric car technology and sustainability efforts. The Taycan is just the start in what is definitely a major shift in the company. This car will also likely have a ripple effect through the industry even more pronounced than the one that was started by Tesla. It will be interesting to see how the Taycan induces change in the industry.
