Taycan World Premiere

In September 2015, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Porsche unveiled the “first 4-door EV sports car concept,” the Mission E. Now, four years later, Porsche streamed the world premiere of its first production 4-door EV sports car, the Taycan, live at 10 PM Japan time on September 4th. I watched it live but, being weak in English, couldn’t catch every detail… so here’s a brief overview of the world premiere.

(A countdown was shown until the live stream started)

The Taycan world premiere was broadcast simultaneously from three locations: a solar power plant in Germany, a hydroelectric power plant near Niagara Falls in Canada, and a wind power plant in Fujian Province, China.

About the Taycan

The Taycan, reflecting technology from the 918 Spyder and 919 Hybrid, is the first EV sports car in history to feature an 800V system. While conventional electric vehicles typically use a 400V system, the Taycan’s double-voltage 800V system enables stable delivery of high-level, high-performance driving. The following specs are believed to be for the top model, the Taycan Turbo S:

・Top speed: 260 km/h
・0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 9.8 seconds
・Maximum output: 560 kW (equivalent to 761 hp)
・Maximum torque: 1050 Nm

The car weighs over 2 tons. Judging by these numbers, it seems Porsche is clearly aiming at Tesla.

Backing up these figures, in August, the Taycan covered 3,425 km in 24 hours on the dedicated Nardò test track in Italy, with an average speed reaching up to 215 km/h.

Also that month, during a time attack at Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Taycan set a record lap time of 7 minutes 42 seconds, the fastest ever for a 4-door EV sports car.

Regarding charging, it can reportedly drive 100 km after just 5 minutes of charging at 270 kW.

Taycan Design

Now, let me introduce the Taycan’s design revealed at the world premiere. (Sorry for the low image quality as these are screen captures from my computer)

What do you think of this design? It feels futuristic, but personally, I think it looks similar to the Panamera, though I find the Panamera a bit cooler (maybe because I’m more used to it).

However, these images alone aren’t enough, so I checked Porsche’s news site and found articles and photos from the Taycan announcement, which I’d like to share.

This is the first time I’ve seen a Taycan in a body color other than white, and it actually looks pretty cool. Also, while the prototype sightings made me think “Mission E looked cooler, the design changed quite a bit,” the production model actually closely resembles the Mission E.

By the way, here’s a look at the interior:

The gauges are stylish and easy to read, but I wonder about the usability of the buttons on the center console. It might take some time to get used to the controls.

I Want to Test Drive the Taycan

Porsche’s first EV sports car. Knowing Porsche, I’m sure a test drive would be incredibly exciting. Even at the world premiere,

“It’s not just an EV sports car, it’s truly a Porsche (with soul).”

or something along those lines was said (though I might not have caught the English perfectly, lol). I definitely want to experience its performance once test drives become available.

My husband said,

“The cut near the headlights looks a bit like some Japanese domestic car, lol. But it doesn’t look out of place with the blue body, so I’d like to see more of the darker colors. If a base model comes out, I’d consider checking out specs and price.
Also, it weighs nearly 2.3 tons. I thought Porsche might make it lighter, but with current battery tech, I guess it’s unavoidable.
When I test drove the Tesla Model S before, it was ‘fast and a good car, but the ride and handling didn’t leave much of an impression.’ So I’m curious how Porsche has tuned the chassis on the Taycan.”

The world premiere didn’t touch on pricing, but I’ll share more info here on the blog as it becomes available.

*Image source: World premiere of the Porsche Taycan: Sports car, sustainably redesigned