Porsche Taycan – A Genuine Fully Charged Exclusive!

Battery Electric Vehicle

The Fully Charged Show is given exclusive access to get Jonny Smith behind the wheel of the new first Porsche all-electric car – the Taycan – and drive it full throttle from 0-124 mph (200 km/h) dozens of times. The Taycan is a twin motor 600+hp, 96kWh, 800-volt 4-door 4-seater coupe with a supposed range of 320 miles (≈ 515 km). It can reach 0-62 mph (0 -100 km/h) in just over 3 seconds repeatedly, and can rapidly charge at over 250kW. With a charging time ≈ of 0 – 80% in about 40 minutes. Prices for this ‘Turbo’ launch model Porsche battery electric vehicle will be around £130,000 ( ≈ €141k or USD $158k) with cheaper/slower versions kicking off around £65,000 within 18 months of the car’s launch in late 2019. The Taycan is potentially as much of a milestone for Porsche as the air-cooled flat-six 911 was, taking aspects of the new 992, 911, and Panamera, but is ground-up all new. Jonny was allowed to take the genuine first drive of the car alone for some 30 full-throttle launches, but the final spec and aesthetic details of the Taycan still remain under embargo.

Charging and Range

Nothing official mentioned, but the Taycan’s range will be between 300 and 320 miles in normal cruising modes with what we think is a 96kWh battery. ‘Range’ mode on the driving selector adds 10% by paring back air con and sensitivity of controls below 85mph.

Being 800 volts is a huge development for Porsche, because this allows some seriously rapid charging abilities. It will be the first production EV to charge theoretically up to 350kw. Porsche owns a stake in Ionity, so expect to see more of these charge points in the near future.

In the meantime if you can find a 150kW rapid charger then the Taycan will top up from 0-80% in 40 mins. At 350kW? 0-80% in some 15 mins! A 3-pin plug charge would take 30 hours.

It has been alleged that Porsche are already developing the car to take solid state batteries in order to drop that 2-tonne kerb weight down and bring the energy density levels even higher.

Boot

Main boot is shallower than a Panamera (and isn’t a hatchback – rather a coupe boot lid) and is about 400-litres, but has some interesting side cubby pockets and lift-up floor for fussy charge cables. There is a front boot (froot) which carries almost 100 litres and is shaped to swallow suitcase(s), like its 911 grandpa.

Interior

The cabin is a tasteful blend of familiarity and gradual evolution of tech screen. The steering wheel (with 10 control elements on) is borrowed from the current 992 911, with the addition of a regen button. The boomerang floating frameless dash binnacle is pure digital and displays 5 dials, like the classic 911s did. The push power button is also to the left of the steering wheel, paying homage to the old 911 brethren. There is reportedly an autopilot function which will have been borrowed from Audi’s A8 flagship model.

The driving position feels very 911, and the centre console has a clean haptic screen for the climate controls and battery status. To each side of the 5-dial binnacle you can touch logos for the suspension, sport modes and that kind of thing. The screen in the centre of the dash is for navigation and infotainment. As we said, the Taycan is exclusively a 4-seater car, and the rear passenger footwells have been designed to be deep for comfort. They work around the battery enclosure, which sits between the wheels in a carbon fibre cage.

The test car had stitched leather but there will be a non-animal skin option.

Batteries

Porsche won’t confirm, but their battery partner is LG. There are reported to be 408 li-ion pouch cells in 34 modules in this version of the Taycan making up a pack of about 96kWh that weighs approximately 650kg. Mounting this low helps the Taycan to achieve a lower centre of gravity than a 911. The pack is liquid cooled using a pair of radiators either side of the front bumper, fed by air through channels underneath the front number plate.

Motors

In this pre-production car I believe the front motor to be 215hp and 221lbft, with the rear motor delivering 402bhp and 406lbft of torque. So 649 lbft peak torque, sometime more for ‘overboost’ according to some reports. It is rumoured the motors have been specially developed with an Italian company to feature rectangular thick ‘hairpin’ style windings rather than thin round wire windings, similar to that in the 919 Hybrid Le Man car. This enables Porsche to package copper wires within the solenoid coil more tightly to make the motors smaller and more resilient to hard current/heat punishment. In other words be able to perform full throttle launch control multiple times without damaging components and throwing a Christmas tree of warning lights across that beautiful dash fascia.

Gearbox

The motor design allows hard repeated use, but there is alleged to be a 2-speed gearbox which can block first gear to prevent damage during hard launches, working alongside an electronic differential lock. Sustained high speeds (something Porsche are known for being excellent at – cue Autobahn commuting clichés) are also achieved with this gearbox, as the motors rev to 16,5000 rpm. Being a Porsche means the power delivery is rear biased, using torque vectoring on both axles to regulate the power delivered to each wheel. Some inside information suggests the pulse inverter that masterminds the power vectoring acts five times faster than conventional 4wd systems. There is no stability managed by brake actuation – the Taycan’s ECU controls everything by wheel selected torque feed.

Suspension

The ride is adjustable air-bag suspension, with rumours of rear steer on some models. There is a 48-volt active anti-roll bar system. Sport Plus lowers and stiffens the suspension to maximise cornering and also downforce. There’s also active aero in the adjustable rear spoiler and front bumper air dams.

Brakes

This being the flagship ‘Turbo’ spec car it has the optional carbon ceramic brakes and 21-inch wheels (20-inch will be standard). Most Taycans will come with PSCB coated steel brakes to reduce dust creation. Porsche are confident they have cracked the brake feel and efficiency with software that progressively merges e-motor regen as hydraulic friction braking kicks in. In normal driving 90% of the braking will be done by regen, but yet there is no mention of one-pedal driving. Brakes to me feel totally relatable to normal piston Porsche cars, which is high praise indeed.

Summary

I have only driven the car around tight slower corners on flat ground, but from the launch control runs I can tell this is unmistakably a Porsche. It is packaged to rival the forthcoming Merc EQS and Audi E-Tron GT, and show hot Tesla drivers that high performance is way more than a one shot deal.

The Taycan appears to be an incredible package that is priced to tempt existing or would-be Tesla owners into a legacy manufacturer who is clearly taking EVs very seriously. The Taycan isn’t the start – that was the 919, the 918 and their Formula-E team – but within 18 months I believe it will help to change perceptions of what an EV is and how it can fit into the world of hardcore car enthusiasts, as well as hyper milers.

I want to thank Porsche for offering myself and Fully Charged this special exclusive drive. There is a lot of arrogance in the car media world, and a few noses may have been put out of joint with this video, but Porsche are a progressive company, and I like to think that this channel that Robert Llewellyn has created is exactly that. We are small, but we are powerful. I went away from Stuttgart trying to work out if I could afford a base model single motor RWD Taycan by the time such a car comes to market. All that’s left to say is this:

“I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for certain other journalists. If you let me keep the Taycan that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.”. … Only joking.

Credits – https://fullycharged.show/blog/porsche-taycan-a-genuine-fully-charged-exclusive/