Porsche Taycan Portrait

The Porsche Taycan has revolutionized the market for electric cars. It is the first battery-electric sports car from Zuffenhausen. With it, Porsche not only launched the electrification of its fleet. It was also the first true electric driver’s car on the market. In December 2019, it was presented to the public as the Porsche Taycan Turbo (S). Meanwhile, the four-door is available as a sedan, crossover Shooting Brake and Shooting Brake. In 2021, it outsold the 911 for the first time.

The history from Mission E to Taycan

Porsche’s first electric sports car is based on the Porsche Mission E concept, which was presented at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt in 2015. Even then, it caused quite a stir. The design was deliberately different from anything before. But at the same time, the Mission E was also unmistakably Porsche. It came with a fully electric drive in 800-volt architecture and immediately became the most exciting car at the show.

In December 2015, Porsche announced, that the Mission E would go into production. However, it took some time before its name was revealed. In June 2018, in connection with the company’s 70th anniversary (#sportscartogether), the Stuttgart-based company then christened the production model Taycan. This means something like lively, young horse. CEO Oliver Blume reported that the naming was intended to underscore the electric sports car’s will to perform and its strength.

Porsche stated, that their electric sports car shouldn’t have worn numbers as a model name. A total of 600 suggestions were discussed. These were examined by native speakers in 23 languages for potentially inappropriate associations. Together with the legal review, the naming process took a year and a half. In the end, Taycan, an oriental word combination, remained. It stands for “soul of a lively, young horse”.

First came the Taycan Turbo

The production model of the Porsche Taycan saw the light of day a good year later. Porsche unveiled the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S versions in September 2019. Deliveries began in the USA in December that year. The maximum system output for the Turbo promises 680 hp, and even 761 hp for the Taycan Turbo S. One of the other stated promises of the presentation was to achieve enough battery charge for a range of 100 kilometers within four minutes.

The Taycan‘s models

The Porsche Taycan was first launched as a four-door sedan. Unlike the Mission E, the doors open conventionally and not in opposite directions. It is designed as a 2+2-seater as standard. However, a five-seater configuration is also available as an option. There are now three different body styles of the Porsche Taycan. After the sedan, the first derivative was the Cross Turismo. This is a shooting brake with increased ground clearance, a so-called crossover. With its station wagon-like tailgate, it offers more utility than the sedan, but also has a significantly worse drag coefficient (0.27 to 0.25 for the Turbo S, 0.26 to 0.22 for all other models). The Sport Turismo completed the lineup at the end of 2021. Like the Cross Turismo, it is a Shooting Brake, but without the additional ground clearance.

Dimensions of the different body styles

Specifications

The powertrain differs significantly, depending on the model. Every Taycan has a 600A motor on the rear axle. A 300A motor does its job on the front axle. The only exception to this is the base Taycan, which has rear-wheel drive only. The battery technology sits in the underbody of the Taycan and is available in two versions, Performance Battery and Performance Battery Plus. In addition to more power, the Plus version also offers more range. Gross capacity is 79.2 and 93.4 kWh, net capacity 71 and 83.7 kWh. Taycan 4, Taycan GTS, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S have the Performance Plus battery on board as standard. With the Taycan and Taycan 4S, the customer is spoiled for choice. In addition, the Taycan 4 is only available as a Cross Turismo. All Taycans are equipped with a 2-speed automatic transmission.

Specifications of the Porsche Taycan, Taycan 4 and Taycan 4S

Specifications of the Porsche Taycan GTS, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S

The interior

To do justice to the modern exterior, Porsche came up with a few fresh ideas for the interior as well. Porsche took the approach taken in the Porsche 992 with displays next to the tachometer even further. An impressively large 16.8-inch display forms the dashboard. It is the first display in the automotive sector to be curved. At the rounded corners there are also small touch control panels for the lights and suspension, for example. A cover has been dispensed with. Reflection protection is provided by a polarization filter vapor-deposited onto the glass. You can choose between the following modes in the cockpit:

• Powermeter – classic mode with three round instruments and power meter in the middle
• Map – map mode with large map instead of power meter in the middle
• Full-Map – full-screen navigation map, without round instruments
• Pure – reduced view with essential information and traffic signs

There are no physical gauges in the Taycan, just as there are no buttons in the center console. Touchscreens are used there as well. The large upper infotainment display has a screen diagonal of 10.9 inches. Below that is another 8.4-inch touch display with haptic feedback. It is primarily used to control the air conditioning and heated seats as well as for handwriting recognition. The ventilation control integrated into this display is called Porsche Virtual Airflow Control. This completely eliminates the need for manual adjustment of the air vents.

Passengers also get displays – direction selecter switch instead of a gear lever

The driver is not the only one to enjoy a high-resolution Full HD display directly in his/her field of vision. If desired, the front passenger can also have a 10.9-inch screen on his or her side. Although a browser is not integrated, it is possible to pair two phones via PCM without any problems. This additional display is intended to reduce distractions for the driver, for example when the front passenger switches to a different track or enters a new destination in the navigation system. And passengers in the rear can also control the ventilation via a 5-inch display.

The Taycan has borrowed from the 918 hybrid super sports car: It no longer has a gear lever in the center console, but instead the so-called direction selector switch next to the steering wheel. A classic gear lever would not be necessary anyway, simply because of the 2-speed transmission. It also leaves more space in the center console. This simplifies packaging and makes for a more airy feeling.

Inside, everything from innovatively tanned leather to completely leather-free is possible in the Taycan

If a car manufacturer focuses on sustainable mobility, innovations in the interior must naturally also be discussed. Porsche has therefore introduced a number of new approaches for the Taycan in addition to the classic leather interiors. For example, there is a club leather tanned with olive leaves called OLEA. A completely vegan interior based on Race-Tex is also feasible. This microfiber causes 80% less CO² emissions in production than comparable materials. The vehicle floor in the Taycan is basically woven from a special recycled fiber called Econyl. This consists of recycled fishing nets, among other things.

The choice of steering wheels is not quite as large. The basic design is taken from the Porsche 992-classic, three-spoke, but with fewer buttons than in the 911. The inserts it contains can be customized in color as part of the Accent package. Alternatively, there is the GT sports steering wheel with strikingly visible screw heads and an additional drive mode switch, again analogous to the Porsche 918. This results in a simple design that fits very well with the reduced, linear dashboard. The thumb rests are now part of the good tone in all Porsche interiors.

Trivia

• Porsche’s very first car with electric motors wasn’t the Taycan, it was the Lohner-Porsche.
• In 2020, the Taycan took the Guinness record for the longest continuous drift in an electric car at 42 kilometers.
• In the 2022 season it will be the official pace car of Formula E.
• Hill Valley mayor Goldie Wilson from Back to the Future drives a Porsche Taycan.

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