Ahead of the official debut, we got a deep-dive on the new Porsche Taycan electric sport sedan and there’s a lot to talk about. If you don’t have time or don’t need every last detail, we’ve put together this handy list of the highlights to make you an instant expert on Porsche’s most important car since the original Cayenne.
Call Me Turbo
The first two models available will be called Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S. Porsche says “Turbo” has morphed into a brand name and not a literal description of an engine part, so it’s OK to put it on a vehicle that doesn’t have an engine, much less turbochargers. You can spot the difference by the carbon-fiber trim on the Turbo S, its carbon-ceramic brakes, and its 21-inch wheels. Under the hood, the Turbo S also gets a larger front motor.
Big Power
The Taycan Turbo S will make up to 751 hp and 774 lb-ft of torque in overboost mode, or 617 hp in normal driving. The Taycan Turbo will make up to 671 hp and 627 lb-ft in overboost mode and 617 hp in normal driving.
Big Performance
Porsche claims the Turbo S will hit 60 mph in as little as 2.6 seconds and run a 10.8-second quarter mile. The Turbo will hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and run an 11.1-second quarter mile. Both cars top out at 162 mph.
Consistency
Porsche engineers claim they did 26 back-to-back launches from zero to 124 mph, which should be just short of a quarter mile for the Turbo S based on available data. It only lost 0.8 second in elapsed time from the first launch to the last.
Average Range
Performance-oriented and sporting tires as wide as 305s, the Taycan won’t come close to a Tesla Model S’ range, but it’s still competitive. Porsche has only released estimates based on the generous WLTP test cycle, on which the Turbo will go 237 to 280 miles and the Turbo S will go 241 to 256 miles. Figure more like 200 to 240 miles on the stricter EPA test cycle.
Fast Charging
Activate “Thermal Pre-Conditioning” to warm or cool the battery to optimal charging temperature and plug into a new Electrify America 350-kilowatt 800-volt DC Fast charger, and you can juice up a Taycan from 5 percent to 80 percent state of charge in 22 minutes, 30 seconds. Forget to pre-condition the battery, and it will take up to 45 minutes. Plug into an older 400-volt DC Fast charger, and it’ll take 36 minutes to go from 5 to 80 percent. A Level 2 charger or a 110-volt wall outlet will take 11 hours to do the same. Battery capacity is 93 kW-hrs.
All-Wheel Drive
Both the Turbo and Turbo S are all-wheel drive only thanks to front and rear permanent magnet electric motors. The front uses a single-speed gearbox, but the rear uses a Porsche-developed two-speed. This allows the Taycan to run an aggressive first gear for acceleration and a long second gear for efficiency and higher top speed.
Regenerative Braking Always
Able to recover energy at a rate of 265 kW, Porsche says the Taycan’s regenerative braking system will handle 95 percent of all braking. The mechanical brakes will engage above 0.39 g of braking to assist, but the regenerative brakes will keep working up to the point of ABS intervention.
Coast to Efficiency
Unlike other EVs, the Taycan won’t automatically engage regenerative braking when you take your foot off the throttle. Porsche says its more efficient to coast and less tiring on your ankle. You can turn on off-throttle regenerative braking, but a cleverer solution is the Auto mode, which coasts but watches the traffic ahead of you with the forward-looking camera and automatically applies regenerative braking if the car ahead of you slows down.
All the Tricks
Air suspension is standard, as are active dampers and an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential. Rear steering is optional on the Turbo and standard on the Turbo S, and active anti-roll bars are optional on both. An active rear spoiler is standard.
All the Screens
A 16.8-inch digital instrument cluster is standard, as is a 10.9-inch infotainment system and an 8.4-inch touchscreen on the center console that handles the climate controls. There’s also a touch pad plus some shortcut buttons. An optional 10.9-inch infotainment screen on the passenger’s side of the dash allows the passenger to control every feature in the main infotainment screen without bothering the driver or being locked out of certain features while the vehicle is moving.
Pricing
The 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo will have an MSRP of $152,250, with Taycan Turbo S pricing starting at $186,350. Too much? Wait for the arrival of lower trims, including a rear-drive base model with greater range.
More to Come
More models are coming soon, including a rear-wheel-drive model. In the future, there will also be an SUV variant based on the Mission E Cross Turismo concept.
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