Porsche Enters a New Era with All-Electric Taycan

Porsche enters a new era as they formally introduce the Taycan—their first all-electric vehicle that offers typical Porsche performance with an atypical drivetrain.

While more Taycan variants will be introduced in the near future, at launch, Porsche is offering two all-wheel drive variants of their first EV: the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S.

It uses two electric motors—one mounted at the front, and one at the back. Curiously, Porsche has installed a two-speed transmission in the rear axle giving it explosive acceleration from a standing start, and high efficiency (and longer range) at cruising.

The “Turbo” name is somewhat misleading because neither variant is powered by an internal combustion engine. Rather, it’s “turbocharged” with an 800-volt system—twice the voltage typically found in EVs, and the first production vehicle to use so. With that, the Taycan Turbo features 680 horsepower, while the Taycan Turbo S ups that to 761 horsepower. The 0-100 km/h comes in as little as 2.8 seconds and top speed is at an impressive 260 km/h.

More than just raw power, the new high-voltage system allows the Taycan to recharge itself quite quickly. Porsche says an additional 100 kilometers of range can be added in just about 5 minutes, while an 80 percent state-of-charge is achieved in less than 25 minutes.

The engines are mounted onto a centrally-networked control system. The Porsche 4D Chassis Control monitors and synchronizes all chassis systems in real time including the adaptive air suspension, dynamic stability control system, and even torque vectoring system. Porsche says the system is so good that in 90 percent of everyday driving, the traditional hydraulic brakes aren’t used—braking is done by the electric motors alone.

Wrapped around this impressively high-tech chassis, the Taycan has a futuristic, yet unmistakable Porsche design. Inside, the instrument panel forms a central axis around the driver, with the instrument panel being the highest point of the cabin. For the first time ever, Porsche is also offering an entirely leather-free option underscoring the sustainable concept of the Taycan. Two luggage compartments—an 81-liter one in front, and a 366-liter one at the back make it highly practical.

The Taycan proved itself on the racetrack becoming the fastest electric vehicle around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. It lapped the legendary 20.6-kilometer circuit in just 7 minutes and 42 seconds, and that’s with a pre-production model.