Electric Porsche Taycan Fueling Fires of Interest Ahead of Unveiling
Porsche aims to give the same driving feel to Taycan as found in its non-electric lineup.
The buzz surrounding the upcoming Porsche Taycan is strong as ever, despite no one but the lords of Stuttgart knowing what the car will look like compared to the Mission E concept it’s based upon. Earlier in 2018, Porsche opened up its order books to take deposits on the electric exotic, and to say the orders have been rolling in would be an understatement.
According to Electrek (via Autocar), Porsche’s U.K. managing director Alexander Pollich didn’t drop a specific number, but did say “the reaction from customers has been fantastic.”
It’s been a long time since Porsche rolled with electric vehicles, having begun its life with one back in 1898. This history, per Pollich, “provides some inspiration and motivation” in the 18-month development process of the Taycan leading up to its proper unveiling in 2019. The wait isn’t stopping anyone from placing their money on the table, as many customers have been hitting up their local Porsche dealers, “asking how to get to the top of the priority lists and asking to access more information.”
Of course, those Taycan owners are going to need a proper charging network to traverse the country. Porsche is in a partnership with BMW, Daimler, Ford, and Volkswagen to develop a 350kW network in Europe as strong as Tesla’s Supercharger network. Not only that, but the Taycan’s all-new J1 architecture will have 800V charging technology, which will future-proof the electric exotic for years to come. The tech will guarantee 80 percent of its 300-mile range will be charged up in 15 minutes.
On the performance side, the Taycan’s low floor, central location of its battery pack, and twin electric motor positioning will likely give the car better weight distribution than Porsche’s non-electric lineup, further enhanced by over-the-air updates which could unlock more horsepower than it came with from the showroom; Formula One and endurance racing legend Mark Webber, who is testing the Taycan, says it has around “600hp.”
Eighteen months is a long time to wait for something this amazing, but wait we shall; the first Taycans will hit the road in 2020.
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