The Porsche 2020 Taycan Is A Real EV Contender
One of the most prominent brands for over 70 years in Motorsport and in the automotive industry, Porsche has lots of performance pedigree behind their name.
A lot of people know them as turbocharged, agile, petrol-powered sports cars, but they have been empowered by the idea of electric cars in hints throughout their long history.
It first started with the Porsche GTRS Hybrid racing car.
Porsche continued their focus on their next big performance challenge, Le Mans. This was met with many times the 919 Hybrid Evo coming back battered and bruised and each time Porsche continued to fix it and look forward to the next opportunity. In December of 2018, it made a record-setting lap at the Nürburgring with a blistering lap of 5:19.55 minutes. Just to give you context, a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ did the lap in what is now a seemingly slow, 6:44.97 minutes. In many cases actually, the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo is actually faster than an F1 car.
After their time on the track, they wanted to bring a performance car to the road. With this in mind, they launched the 918 Hybrid for consumers back when production started in 2013.
With their performance hybrids under immense pressure, stress and rigorous racing, this allowed Porsche to get to know the boundaries of what their electric cars can handle and where to improve them.
This was then followed by the Mission E, Porsche’s concept car. You can tell this is the prequel for what’s to come below and counted as an announcement into fully electric vehicles.
The Rise Of The 2020 Porsche Taycan
A few months ago, I arrived in Niagara Falls set up to see the grandiose full worldwide launch of one of Porsche’s most anticipated vehicles.
This fight is one that is two-fold and provokes many questions.
How will this car look? How will it feel and perform compared to some of their other cars? Will it have the soul of a real Porsche?
These questions and concerns pose a big risk to every automaker out there looking to catch the next big movement in automotive buying.
This is big, but a calculated challenge for Porsche, however, it’s a part of Volkswagen’s commitment of over 30 Billion Euros to greener vehicles and a greener future.
To further the green conversation, Porsche chose 3 places to launch the Taycan, Niagara Falls, a wind farm in China and a solar site in Germany.
With all this excitement, Porsche has generated over 30,000 pre-orders for the vehicle already.
To get ready for the launch, the 2020 Porsche Taycan has been seen tested in various weather conditions to show that it is that all-around sports car that many models in the Porsche line up have proven.
What To Expect From The 2020 Porsche Taycan
There are three different models for the Taycan, 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S. See what makes them different below.
The Porsche Taycan 4S
0 to 100km/h in 4 seconds
Power up to 320 kW
429 brake horsepower with Performance Battery Plus
479 lb-ft torque with Performance Battery Plus
93.4 KwH Gross Battery Capacity with Performance Battery Plus
Top speed 250 km/h
0 to 160km/h in 8.5 seconds with Performance Battery Plus
0 to 200km/h in 12.9 seconds with Performance Battery Plus
MSRP $126,900 (Performance Battery Plus)
The Porsche Taycan Turbo
0 to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds
Power up to 460 kW
616 brake horsepower
Charging time: 22.5 minutes with 270kW charger to 80%
626 lb-ft max torque with launch control
93.4 KwH Gross Battery Capacity
Top speed 260 km/h
0 to 160km/h in 6.9 seconds
0 to 200km/h in 10.6 seconds
MSRP $173,000
The Porsche Taycan Turbo S
0 to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds
Power up to 460 kW
616 brake horsepower
Charging time: 22.5 minutes with 270kW charger to 80%
774 lb-ft max torque with launch control
93.4 KwH Gross Battery Capacity
Top speed 260 km/h
0 to 160km/h in 6.3 seconds
0 to 200km/h in 9.8 seconds
MSRP $213,900
This makes it one of the fastest and most exciting electric vehicles in its class while still remaining the ‘people’s sports car’ by boasting very quick recharge times, under 25 minutes with a 270 kW charger. When more 270 kW chargers become available, it will most for a better structure, you can still use 50kW chargers, but charging up to 80% will take you more towards 93 minutes.
So, while there is some amazing potential for the Porsche Taycan, the rest of Canada needs to catch up and provide charging stations for major city areas, especially fast ones. This will help this car be more in demand and provide more consideration.
Listen, it’s a very exciting car. It has the internal structure, it has the Porsche feel to it while giving some future-proofing with it’s quicker charge times with optimal conditions of a 270 kW structure. We are looking forward to seeing more of these cars on the road with the drivers becoming quiet, yet strong and bold advocates of a greener future.
If you happen to become a Porsche Taycan owner, much like when you showcase an exquisite timepiece on your wrist, you will be admired by the masses, drive curiousity, make people more aware and become respected by those who want to be part of a more electrified future.
The Bottom Line
The 2020 Porsche Taycan is a big contender in the performance space for electric cars and provides a very strong option. For those who love Porsche, it will be an upgrade to an innovative and spirited version of a brand they know and admire. For those looking at this from fresh eyes, it’s an exciting, streamlined vehicle that packs repeated punches off of the line that’s currently unmatched by any other electric vehicle. It also boasts some exciting recharge speeds on a bigger voltage body that can make pit stops to charge up actually bearable.
Consider this for your next electric vehicle purchase, it’s something that has a lot of pedigree, electric heritage and is sure to be an exciting drive. Something that we will confirm once we get our hands on one.
For more information about the 2020 Porsche Taycan, be sure to visit their website.
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