Connect with us

News

Porsche Taycan is here: 0-60 mph in 2.6 sec, 750 HP, good looks with a 911 price tag

The Porsche Taycan Turbo S. (Credit: Porsche AG)

Published

6 years ago

on

The Porsche Taycan is here. In three simultaneous events in Canada, Germany, and China, the veteran automaker took the wraps off its first all-electric sports car. Addressing the audience at Niagara Falls, Porsche Executive Board Member for Sales and Marketing Detlev von Platen highlighted the importance of the Taycan to the company, particularly as it is a vehicle that is designed to carry Porsche into the electric age. 

“The Taycan links our heritage to the future. It carries forward the success story of our brand – a brand that has fascinated and thrilled people the world over for more than 70 years. This day marks the start of a new era,” he said. 

Porsche will be starting its electric car push with the Taycan’s top two configurations: the Taycan Turbo and the Taycan Turbo S. The base Taycan, as well as the midrange Taycan 4S, are expected to follow later this year, while the vehicle’s first derivative, the outdoor-themed Taycan Cross Turismo, is poised to be launched by the end of 2020. The company noted that by 2022, it would have invested over $6.6 billion in its electric vehicle initiatives.  

Following is an overview of the Taycan’s characteristics, from its design and performance to its safety features and price. 

The Porsche Taycan Turbo and the Taycan Turbo S. (Credit: Porsche AG)

Advertisement

Design

Immediately noticeable from the production version of the Taycan is that the vehicle is very close to the appearance of the Mission E sedan. The Taycan is 1,966 mm (77.4 inches) wide but only 1,380 mm (54.33 inches) high, which gives the car a wide and flat look that is distinctly Porsche. It’s very low to the ground, being 40 mm (1.5 inches) lower than the Panamera. From the rear, the Taycan is shaped by a roofline that slopes downward to the rear, while its side sections are highly sculpted, giving the vehicle a wide and sporty stance. Overall, the Taycan has a length of 4,963 mm (195.39 inches) and a wheelbase of 2,900 mm (114.17 inches). The vehicle also has a 0.22 drag coefficient, which is currently the lowest of all cars Porsche has released to date. 

Performance

Porsche has only revealed the performance figures of the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S. With Launch Control, the Taycan Turbo S is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. The Taycan Turbo is only a fraction of a second behind, with its 0-60 mph time of 3.0 seconds. Quarter-mile times for each vehicle stand at 10.8 seconds for the Taycan Turbo S and 11.1 seconds for the Taycan Turbo. 

The secret to the Taycan’s speed lies in its two electric motors, the front of which has a max output of 190 kW for the Turbo S and 175 kW for the Turbo. The Taycan’s 335 kW rear motor, as well as its dedicated Launch Mode options with “Overboost,” ultimately allows the Taycan to have a maximum torque of 1,050 Nm for the Turbo S and 850 Nm for the Turbo variant. 

The Porsche Taycan Turbo and the Taycan Turbo S. (Credit: Porsche AG)

Safety

The Taycan’s body is comprised of an aluminum chassis reinforced with hot-formed steel on pillars and doors. Porsche highlighted that the vehicle was designed with strict requirements to ensure that nothing can puncture the car’s battery pack. In the event of a frontal crash, the Taycan’s front assemblies slide away from the pack to prevent intrusions into the cabin. The Taycan is equipped with a suite of sensors as well, including front and rear radar, wide-angle cameras, a mono front camera, ultrasonic sensors, and long-range radar. 

Advertisement

Battery

Porsche opted to utilize a 100 kWh battery pack with the Taycan, though only 93 kWh of this is usable. The Taycan’s batteries are made from Li-ion pouch cells that are provided by LG Chem. The Taycan’s aluminum battery pack has a 2 mm thickness on the bottom, with cell modules resting on top of the cooling system on the battery pack. 

The automaker utilized its 800-volt architecture for the Taycan, which, Porsche noted, reduces the current needed to produce large amounts of power. The lower current also means that Porsche could use thinner cables for the vehicle, allowing the Taycan’s wiring system to be lighter. Ultimately, Porsche notes that the Taycan’s 800-volt tech enables higher continuous power and faster charging.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo and the Taycan Turbo S. (Credit: Porsche AG)

Range

The Porsche Taycan has not been issued with an official EPA rating yet, though the Turbo S has been given a 388–412 km (241-256 miles) range per charge under the WLTP standard. The Taycan Turbo was given a higher max range rating by the WLTP, outlasting its more powerful sibling with an estimated range of 381-450 km (236.74-279.61 miles) per charge. 

The Taycan Turbo has a power consumption of 25.7–24.5 kWh/100 km under the WLTP, which makes it more efficient compared to the Taycan Turbo S’ 26.7–23.0 kWh/100 km. Overall, the Taycan Turbo has a combined power consumption rating of 26.0 kWh/100 km under the NEDC, while the Turbo S variant is rated at 26.9 kWh/100 km. 

Advertisement

Features

The Porsche Taycan’s storage area is comprised of a rear trunk and a frunk. According to the vehicle’s official spec sheet released for North America, the Taycan’s frunk has 2.8 cubic feet of space, while its rear trunk has 12.9 cubic feet of space. The Taycan is also equipped with two charging ports. Interestingly, the Taycan has a nifty feature for times when its charging port door is stuck due to ice. In such instances, the Taycan’s charge port door will vibrate and gradually increase the force until the vibrations break the ice. This should help electric car owners charge their vehicles during winters. 

Price

Porsche states that the Taycan is one of its most important vehicles since the 911. In this sense, the Taycan is priced in pretty much the same bracket as the flagship sports car. The Taycan Turbo starts at $150,900 ($153,310 at launch), which is comparable to the price of a 2019 Porsche 911 Turbo. For comparison, Porsche Fremont’s official website lists the 2019 911 Turbo with an MSRP of $161,800.

The Taycan Turbo S is Porsche’s flagship electric car to date, and it is priced as such. The vehicle starts at $185,000 ($187,610 at launch), making it comparable to the price of a 2019 Porsche 911 Turbo S, which is listed in the United States with an MSRP of $190,700. 

Watch the Porsche Taycan’s unveiling in the video below. 

Advertisement
Related Topics:

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals when SpaceX will perform first-ever Starship catch

“Starship catch is probably flight 13 to 15, depending on how well V3 flights go,” Musk said.

Published

3 hours ago

on

August 28, 2025

By

Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk revealed when SpaceX would perform the first-ever catch attempt of Starship, its massive rocket that will one day take life to other planets.

On Tuesday, Starship aced its tenth test flight as SpaceX was able to complete each of its mission objectives, including a splashdown of the Super Heavy Booster in the Gulf, the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, and another splashdown of the ship in the Indian Ocean.

It was the first launch that featured a payload deployment:

SpaceX Starship Flight 10 was so successful, it’s breaking the anti-Musk narrative

SpaceX was transparent that it would not attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster, something it has done on three previous occasions: Flight 5 on October 13, 2024, Flight 7 on January 16, and Flight 8 on March 6.

Advertisement

This time, it was not attempting to do so. However, there are bigger plans for the future, and Musk detailed them in a recent post on X, where he discussed SpaceX’s plans to catch Starship, which would be a monumental accomplishment.

Musk said the most likely opportunities for SpaceX to catch Starship itself would be Flight 13, Flight 14, and Flight 15, but it depends on “how well the V3 flights go.”

The Starship launched with Flight 10 was a V2, which is the same size as the subsequent V3 rocket but has a smaller payload-to-orbit rating and is less powerful in terms of initial thrust and booster thrust. Musk said there is only one more V2 rocket left to launch.

Advertisement

V3 will be the version flown through 2026, as V4, which will be the most capable Starship build SpaceX manufactures, is likely to be the first company ship to carry humans to space.

Musk said that SpaceX planned to “hopefully” attempt a catch of Starship in 2025. However, it appears that this will likely be pushed back to 2026 due to timing.

SpaceX will take Starship catch one step further very soon, Elon Musk confirms

SpaceX would need to launch the 11th and 12th test flights by the end of the year in order to get to Musk’s expected first catch attempt of Flight 13. It’s not unheard of, but the company will need to accelerate its launch rate as it has only had three test flights this year.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo confirms massive fleet expansion in Bay Area

New data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.

Published

6 hours ago

on

August 28, 2025

By

Credit: Uber

Tesla Robotaxi rival Waymo has confirmed that it has expanded its fleet of driverless ride-sharing vehicles in the Bay Area of California massively since its last public disclosure.

It is perhaps one of the most important metrics in the race for autonomous supremacy, along with overall service area. Tesla has seemed to focus on the latter, while expanding its fleet slowly to maintain safety.

Waymo, on the other hand, is bringing its fleet size across the country to significant levels. In March, it told The SF Examiner that there were over 300 Waymos in service in the San Francisco area, which was not a significant increase from the 250 vehicles on the road it reported in August 2023.

In May, the company said in a press release that it had more than 1,500 self-driving Waymos operating nationwide. More than 600 were in the San Francisco area.

Tesla analyst compares Robotaxi to Waymo: ‘The contrast was clear’

Advertisement

However, new data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said Waymo had 1,429 vehicles operating in California, and 875 of them were “associated with a terminal in San Francisco,” according to The SF Examiner.

CPUC data from March 2025 indicated that there were a total of 1,087 Waymo vehicles in California, with 762 located in San Francisco. Some were test vehicles, others were deployed to operate as ride-sharing vehicles.

The company’s August update also said that it deploys more than 2,000 commercial vehicles in the United States. That number was 1,500 in May. There are also roughly 400 in Phoenix and 500 in Los Angeles.

While Waymo has done a good job of expanding its fleet, it has also been able to expand its footprint in the various cities it is operating in.

Most recently, it grew its geofence in Austin, Texas, to 90 square miles. This outpaced Tesla for a short period before the company expanded its Robotaxi service area earlier this week to roughly 170 square miles.

Advertisement

Tesla one-ups Waymo once again with latest Robotaxi expansion in Austin

The two companies have drastically different approaches to self-driving, as Waymo utilizes LiDAR, while Tesla relies solely on cameras for its suite. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made no mistake about which he believes to be the superior solution to autonomy.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla launches Full Self-Driving in a new region

Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Published

7 hours ago

on

August 28, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched its Full Self-Driving suite in a new region, marking a significant step in the company’s progress to expand its driver assistance suite on a global scale.

It is also the first time Tesla has launched FSD in a right-hand-drive market.

Today, Tesla launched Full Self-Driving in Australia for purchase by car buyers for $10,100, according to Aussie automotive blog Man of Many, which tried out the suite earlier this week.

Previously, Basic and Enhanced Autopilot suites were available, but the FSD capability now adds Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control, along with all the features of the previous two Autopilot suites.

It is the first time Tesla has launched the suite by name in a region outside of North America. In China, Tesla has “City Autopilot,” as it was not permitted to use the Full Self-Driving label for regulatory reasons.

However, Tesla still lists Full Self-Driving (Supervised) as available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

The company teased the launch of the suite in Australia earlier this week, and it appeared to have been released to select media members in the region earlier this week:

Advertisement

Tesla FSD upcoming Australia release seemingly teased bv media

The rollout of Full Self-Driving in the Australian market will occur in stages, as Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with Hardware 4 will receive the first batch of FSD rollouts in the region.

TechAU also reported that “the initial deployment of FSDs in Australia will roll out to a select number of people outside the company, these people are being invited into Tesla’s Early Access Program.”

Additionally, the company reportedly said it is “very close” to unlocking FSD in customer cars:

Each new Tesla sold will also come with a 30-day free trial of the suite.

Australia is the sixth country to officially have Full Self-Driving available to them, following the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

Here’s the first look at the suite operating in Australia:

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending