News: Electric Porsche Hits the Road

2020 Porsche Taycan Promises Performance—For a Price

The appeal of an all-electric Porsche, as explained by the company at its latest worldwide vehicle introduction, is that it’s a Porsche like other Porsches, just with an electric powertrain.

As a sports car company, setting aside for a moment that its best-selling vehicles are both SUVs, Porsche is on its way to investing $6.6 million to “start a new era.” The results are the all-wheel drive 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Taycan Turbo, the initial electric products for the company, which is a part of the Volkswagen automotive empire. Less powerful variants of these two models and the Taycan Cross Turismo, a wagon version promised by the end of next year.

For now, the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S represent some of the most powerful sports cars Porsche is currently offering with 616 or 670 horsepower version capable of delivering 161 mph top speeds and 0-60 times under three seconds. The other performance metric that Porsche is touting is the car’s fast-charging capability. With a 800-volt system, the Taycan can take its 93.4 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery from five to 80 percent charge in 270 kW DC fast-charger in 22.5 minutes. Range on a full charge is estimated at 250-275 miles depending on the model.

Two motors drive the front and rear axles with a two-speed transmission located on the aluminum multi-link rear axle. The two speeds allocate one for acceleration and the top gear for cruising. Expected sophisticated Porsche chassis systems, tuned with an enthusiast driver in mind, inhabit the undercarriage of the Taycan.  

Looks Like a Porsche

Porsche designers took care to craft a very aerodynamic four-door (with a coefficient of drag at 0.22) but retain the traditional styling cues of the brand—pronounced shoulders and a sloping roofline. At first glance, it appears to be a sportier version of the existing Panamera sedan.

Inside the cockpit features expected Porsche accoutrements, including a free-standing, curved instrument cluster and a 10.9-inch infotainment display. Touch or voice controls most in-vehicle functions so buttons and switches have been minimized. In a node to perhaps a new, environmentally conscious customer, Porsche is offering an entirely leather-free interior for the first time. Like many of its competitors, the Taycans have both front (2.8 cubic feet) and rear (12.9 cubic feet) luggage compartments.

Overall dimensions of the car are ample. It sits on a 114.2-inch wheelbase and has an overall length of 195.4 inches. Curb weight of the Taycan Turbo is a hefty 5,132 pounds.

Pricing for the Taycan Turbo starts at $150,900 while the more powerful Turbo S begins at $185,000. Tick all of the option boxes and, like many German sports cars, the total can grow to close to $200,000.

To underscore the environmental sensitivity of this “new era” for Porsche, the Taycan was introduced simultaneously in the U.S. near Niagara Falls to represent hydropower, near Berlin in Europe at a solar farm and also at a wind farm near the Chinese city of Fuzhou in Fujian province.