Porsche’s commitment to the future of electric mobility began with a concept in 2015 that showcased the potential of silent and relatively eco-friendly cars that needn’t be dull or slow – the Mission E Concept. Skip forward to now, as the Stuttgart based carmaker is celebrating seven decades of its sports cars, this concept is on the fast track to becoming a production car, the brand’s first all-electric vehicle and the official name has just been announced — the Taycan.
It’s not something that’s a particularly familiar sounding name from the rest of Porsche’s modern product portfolio but they have put in some thought and meaning behind the name, unlike a certain Italian sports car manufacturer of late. The word ‘Taycan’ can be roughly translated as “lively young horse” which refers to the imagery at the heart of the Porsche crest since 1952 (pictured below).
The new Porsche Taycan will be powered by two electric motors (Porsche calls them permanently excited synchronous motors or PSM) with a combined output of 590bhp and the 0-100kph time is said to be at a decently quick 3.5 seconds. Even more important when it comes to EVs, the Taycan should have a maximum range of over 500km in accordance with the NEDC test. Porsche also says that it would be possible to get 100km of range in just 4 minutes of charge from the max compatible voltage sockets.
Porsche’s commitment to the new electric vehicle production is backed up by their plant to invest more than EUR 6,000,000,000 into electromobility by 2022, double their original plan. Around EUR 500,000,000 of it will be used to develop the Taycan and future variants and derivatives which will also create approximately 1200 new jobs in Zuffenhausen alone. Several hundred million Euro from the budget will be spent on expanding production sites, and the Taycan already has a new paint shop and dedicated assembly facility while the existing engine plant will be converted to support the production of new electric drivetrains as well. Some EUR 700,000,000 is planned to be invested in new technologies, charging infrastructure and smart mobility while a billion Euros will be used for electrification and hybridisation of the existing Porsche product range.
The final spec of the new Porsche Taycan is yet to be unveiled but we expect it to look a lot like the Mission E Concept which is a thing of beauty. The more recent variant of the concept, the Cross Turismo version, not so much. But this is an exciting time for the progress of EVs and as these high-end cars join the market, it’ll be fun to see what technology and design trickles down to be made available to the general consumer. What are your thoughts on the new name? Are you also smitten by the design of the Mission E? Share your thoughts in the comments below and subscribe to The Auto Loons for more cool updates from the car world, Formula One and Formula E.
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