The sports car built to slingshot Porsche into the electric future has finally arrived. Today, in simultaneous events held on three continents, the German automaker unveiled the battery-powered, zero-emission Taycan sport sedan. The low-slung four-door arrives in two versions—the base model Turbo and specced up Turbo S—with the kind of stats that should make even petrol-chugging gearheads drool. Think 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds in the S, along with 750 horsepower. But the Taycan also delivers on Porsche’s reputation for engineering prowess by pushing electric driving tech forward in all sorts of ways.
The Taycan (née Mission E) uses an industry-first 800-volt battery, which allows for smaller cabling than the standard 400-volt system, making the car lighter. That also enables extra fast charging: The 93.4-kWh battery (roughly what you get on a top-end Tesla) can be filled to 80 percent is just 22.5 minutes, using one of the high-speed chargers Porsche is installing at dealerships around the country. The company estimates the range at 279 miles for the Turbo and 256 for the Turbo S, though the EPA hasn’t determined the official numbers.
For the reveal, Porsche held events in three places that each represent a different form of renewable energy production: Berlin for solar power, China’s Pingtan Island for wind, and Niagara Falls, Canada, for hydroelectric. But the automaker’s fiercest fans are probably less concerned with what makes the Taycan’s power, and more curious about what makes it a legit Porsche.
For performance enthusiasts, that comes down to handling and responsiveness. Chassis engineer Ingo Albers points to the new all-wheel-drive system, which scraps a central system in favor of putting control within each of the dual motors. That saves milliseconds of delay as the wheels communicate with the controller and the controller sends instructions back. “It's faster, it's smoother, and the performance is better,” Albers says. “The traction control is up to 10 times faster than on a normal Porsche.”
The Taycan will feel more nimble and agile than Porsche’s other sports sedan, the Panamera, Albers says. Better balanced, too, since its weight is concentrated in its middle. But it will please those with drifting in mind. The new control system distributes torque to the front and rear axles in such a way to make the rear-biased system easier to control with deft working of the throttle. “The torque is there, and it can be distributed within milliseconds,” Albers says.
As with all electrics, the tires posed a challenge. Porsche’s engineers wanted to balance low rolling resistance, which enhances efficiency, and stiff, sturdy construction for better handling. “Normally, those two don't get along very well,” Albers says. “Either you have grip, or you have a good-rolling-resistance tire.” Briefly, a stiffer sidewall improves damping, which is better for performance and grip, but less damping is good for rolling resistance. It took the teams nearly four years to settle on a tire design, compound, and tread pattern they feel strikes the right balance.
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The powertrain called for a similar compromise between efficiency and ferocity, resulting in Porsche’s development of an industry-first two-speed gearbox. Manufactured in-house, it’s attached to the rear motor only and provides for both brisk low-end acceleration and a higher top-end, at 161 mph, while still being efficient when it needs to be, for highway cruising and the like. The powertrain is also optimized for high regenerative braking. Porsche managed to achieve 265 watts of recuperative power generation under braking, even counting for the losses from the wheel to the battery. As a result, Porsche claims that on average, 90 percent of everyday braking can be performed by the electric motors alone, absent the hydraulic brake system being activated that comes in under more aggressive stopping.
Though the Taycan appears poised to be a win over the company’s short-term environmental challenges—having a viable EV product that delivers what performance-car enthusiasts want—some long-term challenges will persist. For instance, there’s the potential market for the car, which Porsche assures is strong. But the base price for the entry-level Turbo variant is $150,000, and the company has invested more than $1 billion in its factory in Zuffenhausen, Germany, to manufacture the cars. That’s a lot of capital to bet on a nascent market.
Then there’s the increasingly prominent issue of battery reclamation. At the moment, Porsche doesn’t have an end-of-life plan for the Taycan’s batteries, whether that involves appropriate collection and disposal, recycling, or re-use. Nissan, Renault, and Tesla all have often elaborate plans for reusing their cars’ batteries once they’re no longer potent enough for the demands of driving. A company spokesman says Porsche is actively working on a solution, but “plans aren’t finalized yet.”
Moreover, the batteries aren’t designed to be replaced by owners who want to drive their Taycans well beyond a few years—some EV batteries can lose 40 percent of their capacity after eight years. Porsche has yet to share estimates on its expected capacity loss, but it offers an eight-year warranty on the battery. That’s competitive with other EV makers, but Porsches tend to be valued well beyond their initial years—think of all the 911 owners who cherish their vehicles for decades. It would be a pity if this rolling symbol of the future couldn’t last long enough to enjoy it.