An Electric Future Begins
Porsche turned its 2015 Mission E concept EV into a real car when it named it the Taycan in a formal announcement at the company’s 70th birthday bash. A Eurasian word for “lively young horse,” the Taycan (pronounced Tie-conn) is the company’s first all-electric model, but just the beginning of a planned rollout of battery-powered vehicles over the next several years.
The new model will be as powerful as the mighty Mission E concept with two permanently-excited electric motors producing 600 horsepower, enough to propel the low-slung sports car from 0 to 60 in about 3.5 seconds and to 124 mph in just 12 seconds. Taycan drivers should be permanently excited, too.
Porsche models used to be identified by numbers, but the Taycan joins the Boxster, Cayenne, Cayman, Macan and Panamera in rejecting the boring alphanumerics of its competitors.
A Big Development Budget
Porsche plans to spend about €6 billion (a little more than $7 billion) over the next five years to develop its electric car portfolio. Half a billion will go to developing variants of the Taycan, and the rest will spread the gospel of an electric future to the rest of the lineup. Sharing platforms with VW and Audi will help spread out the development costs.
A new car deserves a fresh and suitable factory, and the Zuffenhausen headquarters will receive new paint facilities, an expanded engine area (converted to building electric drive motors), and a dedicated assembly line. The project will put around 1,200 folks to work assembling the exciting new dream car.
The numbers are impressive. The range is expected to be about 500 km (310 miles) and, better yet, the Porsche Taycan’s 800-volt fast-charge system should be able to add 100 km (62 miles) of range in just four minutes. That’s starting to approach a gas station visit, or certainly a quick lunch stop. The charging network will be built out at Porsche dealerships and other convenient locations.
Series production is expected to begin next year and will certainly give Tesla and limited-edition EV specialist builders a run for their money.
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Actually not the first Electric Porsche – that came out in 1900, designed by Ferdinand Porsche, marketed as the Löhner-Porsche – initially as an all electric vehicle.
I understand that it was modified at some stage during it’s 5 year production to be a petrol-electric hybrid vehicle, but started as an electric car.
@Alan Clarke. We stand corrected and will always bow to a good piece of history. Although we also would like to point out that the company Porsche GmbH was founded in 1931, so we believe we have a technical on this one, while acknowledging your excellent historical footnote. –ed.
You win on a technicality!!
It’s odd that this came up so soon after I was conversing with a couple of guys early this week, and one said about my PRIUS that they were a new-fangled idea – I think he prefers his diesel. I said, no, the Woods Hybrid car of 107 years ago was the first. The other guy later emailed me about Ferdinand’s hybrid built in 1900.
Real sporty looking
https://www.google.com/search?q=ferdinand+porsche+hybrid+1900&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9xZyfpdTbAhVSEqYKHfJRDj4Q_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=645#imgrc=Zfs469g2aCrsDM:
@Alan Clarke – Well, we could also talk about the steam-powered cars of 100 years ago. Don’t think they’re coming back, but never say never. –ed.