The First Fully Electric Car from Porsche - The Taycan
The Taycan is to be the first fully electric vehicle from Porsche with 600bhp, a 300+ mile range and super fast charging.
Mission E has been the name given to Porsche's electric vehicle project until now. We now know Taycan will be the name given to the production vehicle. Taycan translates loosely into 'lively, young horse' alluding to the logo that has appeared on the Porsche badge since 1952 of a horse on its hind legs.
Taycan Models
The first vehicle released under the Taycan name will be a 4 door sports coupe. It has a classic coupe look with a low, sleek profile and sloping roof. The overall height of the vehicle only reaches 1.3 metres, but due to the low ride seats there is enough room for 4 adults to sit comfortably. AWD is due to appear in all Taycans as standard to begin with. This model is due to have an entry level price between £60,000 - £70,000 and should be launched by the end of 2019.
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Joining this model in the future are thought to be different power variants, as well as a crossover version and a rear wheel drive model.
Porsche Taycan Performance
The Taycan uses a Lithium Ion battery pack which lays flat across the length of the car to keep weight distributed evenly. This battery produces 600bhp to give a 0-62mph time of just under 3.5 seconds. The Taycan will be able to reach 124mph in just under 12 seconds and will have a top speed of 155mph.
Porsche Taycan Range and Charging
Porsche has teamed up with Audi, BMW, Ford and Mercedes-Benz to install superfast chargers across the country in the Ionity Network. These chargers will be able to deliver a large 350kW charge, but only to vehicles which are compatible. The Taycan is being built with on-board electronics and cooling that will cope with this charge, but can accept a lower charge if needed.
With super fast charging Porsche claim you will be able to charge the equivalent of 62 miles in 4 minutes and 250 miles in only 15 minutes. The Ionity Network is also aiming to make charging up less complicated with contactless payment to avoid the need to sign up to many different charging networks to get access to power.
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Porsche has estimated a range of 310 miles should be achievable on a single charge. However, this is based on the now outdated NEDC cycle testing, this figure is likely to decrease to somewhere in the region of 240 miles once the new Real World test conditions have been applied.
Porsche Taycan Technology
The Taycan is thought to be receiving computer blended braking. A traditional brake pedal will still be found for the driver to use but this will not have a mechanical connection to the brake discs, instead pressing the brake pedal will act as a request to slow down and the computer system will make the car respond accordingly.
The driver will have an instrument panel with a dynamic display, this display will track the movements of the driver and respond by repositioning instruments, so the perfect view is always supplied. The rest of the dash and infotainment system can be controlled via gesture rumoured to be through a holographic display.
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No car is now complete without some autonomous features and the Taycan is no exception. We are expecting self parking technology as well as the ability to stop and start autonomously in traffic at the very least.
The question of noise has yet to be answered. We do know that Porsche do not plan to create a conventional engine noise for the Taycan but will create a sound that reflects the technology.
