NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — After four years of the most ambitious and technically difficult program in its history, Porsche unveiled the 2020 Taycan here.
The global launch was one of three conducted simultaneously; the others were in Germany and China.
The three locations were significant because the Taycan (pronounced Tie Can) is a totally electric vehicle. Tons of water cascading over the falls behind the stage were to remind us of hydroelectric power generation.
The site in Zuffenhausen, Germany, was adjacent a massive solar farm and the dozens of windmills generating power through solar energy in Fuzhau, China, completed the clean, renewable energy generation picture.
The Taycan is clearly a Porsche with a visual similarity to the 911 from the front, and the Panamera from the rear. It is the most aerodynamic Porsche, with adjustable air intakes, and a variable rear spoiler.
An adjustable air suspension reduces the frontal area by lowering the vehicle in two stages at higher speeds. With the battery pack beneath the rear seat, the four-door Taycan has the lowest centre of gravity of any Porsche. It sits 4.0-cm lower than the Panamera.
Typically Porsche, the Taycan is fast, powerful and expensive.
FAST
The Taycan Turbo S has a top speed of 260 km/h. Despite weighing more than 5,000 pounds, it will accelerate from rest to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, reaching 200 km/h a mere seven seconds later. The quarter-mile time is 10.8 seconds.
In a direct shot at the competition, Porsche says the Taycan will repeat these feats time and time again. Sustained full throttle acceleration and high speeds are the nemesis of most electric vehicles, overheating and draining the batteries, thus shortening the operating range significantly.
Porsche engineers have spent years tackling this problem. The Taycan utilizes permanent magnet synchronous motors. While more expensive, they are smaller, more efficient and manage heat more effectively.
An elaborate thermal-management system keeps the battery pack in the optimal temperature range when driving or while being recharged.
During testing, the Taycan endured 26 consecutive 0-200 km/h runs, the last only 0.8 seconds slower than the first. It completed 3,425 km over 24 hours at an average speed of 143 km/h, including recharging.
POWERFUL
The Taycan has a pair of electric motors generating 670 horsepower and 630 lb.-ft. of torque in base Turbo trim. The Turbo S version amps up the output (pun intended) to 750 horsepower and 774 lb.-ft. of torque. The all-wheel-drive system employs a powerful and unique electric motor at each end.
The motors are combined with an inverter and transmission in one module. The front motor unit employs a single speed transmission and the rear a novel two-speed unit. Low gear ensures maximum acceleration and high gear ensures maximum efficiency during highway driving and a top speed of 260 km/h.
EXPENSIVE
At launch later this year, the Taycan will be available in two trim levels. The Turbo will start at $173,900 and the Turbo S at $213,900. That’s before you visit the famously costly Porsche option sheet! It might be possible to get the tab up to $250,000.
Porsche defends use of the Turbo name despite the fact there is no such device on the car. It says Turbo is being used for performance-oriented models, rather than engine technology.
These feats are possible because the Taycan is the first electric passenger vehicle based on an 800-volt architecture, double the current 400-volt standard. This will allow the 93.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack beneath the rear seat to be supplied with a 100-km charge in five minutes. Plugged into the necessary high voltage charger, the battery pack will go from a five per cent charge to 80 per cent in about 22 minutes. It will travel up to 450 km on a full charge.
VW has announced plans to supply the necessary powerful chargers at several locations in major centres in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to service upcoming Porsche, VW and Audi electric vehicles that will utilize the 800-volt system. Charge times on the normal, Level 1 and Level 2 chargers will be longer.
Porsche says the Taycan is the start of a new era at Porsche. It has more than doubled its workforce since 2012, to more than 34,000 people and built an entirely new production facility in Zuffenhausen to accommodate the growth.
The Taycan is the third leg in Porsche’s lineup of three drivetrains: combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and electric. The company says one half of all vehicles it produces by 2025 will be electrified. It has committed six billion Euros ($8.8 billion Cdn.) to this effort.
The Taycan is only the first of a fleet of battery electrics that Porsche plans for the next decade. The E-Performance lineup will include a less powerful version of the Taycan, the Cross Turismo that will come along next year, followed by an all-electric Macan.
Porsche has received more than 30,000 reservations, causing it to raise the initial production forecast.
Visit the official Taycan site
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