TAYCAN 4S 0-100 km/h: 4.0s 522 hp Top speed: 250 km/h MSRP 119,400
TAYCAN TURBO 0-100 km/h: 3.2s 670 hp Top speed: 260 km/h MSRP 173,900
TAYCAN TURBO S 0-100 km/h: 2.8s 750 hp Top speed: 260 km/h MSRP 213,900
PORSCHE CENTRE VANCOUVER 688 Terminal Ave | (604) 736-7911 | www.porschevancouver.ca
No, this isn’t Porsche’s first electric car. In fact, Porsche’s very first car EVER was an electric: In 1898, Ferdinand Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton, which was powered by a four-horsepower electric motor and had a top speed of just 25 km/h. Times have changed, and here we are with the 522 (4S) to 750 (Turbo S) horsepower Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn). I have to admit, I was never the biggest fan of electric cars. Yes, they may be fast but they often lack personality and I didn’t feel passionate about them. Then, at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, Porsche unveiled the Mission E concept car and I didn’t care which drivetrain it would get - the car was just stunningly beautiful. In late February 2020, the production Taycan was simultaneously revealed in locations which
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represent three forms of sustainable energy: Niagara Falls (hydropower); a solar farm in Neuhardenberg, near Berlin in Germany (solar power); and a wind farm on the China’s Pingtan Island, around 150 km from the city of Fuzhou (wind power). My first close encounter with the Taycan was last year in Dubai but the first chance for an in-depth several day test-drive with the first production electric vehicle to use a two-speed transmission and an 800-volt electrical system, was September. I was handed the keys to the 670hp Taycan Turbo in white with black leather interior. Wait - “Turbo”? Yes – Porsche states that the word Turbo has become a subbrand, denoting the fastest models in every model-line, regardless of the type of drivetrain.
The exterior – stunning with unmistakable Porsche DNA. Let’s just say it is more of a futuristic stretched 911 than a shrunken Panamera. An aggressive front with LED matrix headlights, a low and sleek roofline that gives it a very dynamic profile, and a sharply emphasised rear with Porsche lettering in glass-effect in the light bar. The interior is a bit smaller than that of a Panamera but there is plenty of room and, most importantly, the driving position is excellent. However, what really sets this car apart for me from a Tesla is its vastly superior interior quality. Everything you see and touch is of the typical high Porsche standard. It looks and feels expensive. Once you are behind the steering wheel everything is very familiar. The rising centre console, the shape of the dash,
