CarBrandLogos archive · Porsche · 2019

PorscheTaycan

Porsche's first EV, built for repeatable performance rather than one fast lap.

Photo: Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Porsche history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Porsche Taycan, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Taycan grew out of the Mission E concept and entered production in 2019 as the first battery-electric car Porsche had built. The engineering brief was unusual for the segment. Rather than chase the largest possible range figure or the biggest acceleration number, Porsche concentrated on what happens the second and third time you use the performance, and on how quickly the car recovers charge.

Geneva Motor Show 2268 · Norbert Aepli, Switzerland (User:Noebu) · CC BY 4.0

Design and engineering

That produced two distinctive decisions. The Taycan uses an 800-volt architecture, double the then-industry standard, which reduces cable weight and current and allows very high charging rates when a suitable charger is available. And it fits a two-speed transmission on the rear axle, with a short first gear for acceleration and a tall second for efficiency at speed, where almost every rival uses a single ratio. Two AC synchronous motors drive all four wheels on most versions; the base car is rear-drive.

Geneva Motor Show 2280 · Norbert Aepli, Switzerland (User:Noebu) · CC BY 4.0

In production

The body is a four-door saloon designed by Emiel Burki and Mitja Borkert under Michael Mauer, with a low roofline and footwells recessed into the battery pack so rear passengers are not perched on it. Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo shooting brakes followed. It is built at Stuttgart, and it demonstrated that a company defined by internal combustion could produce an electric car that still felt like its own.

2020 Porsche Taycan 4S 79k Wh Rear · Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2019–present

Engine

2× AC synchronous electric motors

Body

4-door Sedan

Technical specification

The Taycan, in detail.

Production: 2019–present
Class: Executive car (E)
Body style: 4-door Sedan (automobile); sedan/saloon ; 5-door shooting brake (Taycan Cross Turismo / Taycan Sport Turismo)
Layout: Rear-motor, rear-wheel-drive (Taycan) ; Dual-motor, all-wheel-drive (Taycan 4, 4S, GTS, Turbo & Turbo S)
Engine: 2× AC synchronous electric motors
Transmission: 1-speed direct-drive (front 8.05:1) ; 2-speed automatic (rear; 16:1 and 8.05:1)
Designer: Emiel Burki and Mitja Borkert under Michael Mauer
Assembly: Germany: Stuttgart
Manufacturer: Porsche