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Porsche expands the Taycan’s rear legroom with clever ‘foot garage’ design
The Porsche Taycan is only a few months away from its official unveiling, and details of its production version are starting to emerge. Through videos of the vehicle’s pre-production prototypes to interviews with Porsche executives, the Taycan is steadily taking form. Just recently, for example, Michael Mauer, Porsche’s style director, discussed how the company was able to design a system that will give the vehicle’s rear seat occupants more legroom.
Porsche has been in the auto business for a very long time, but the company is famous for its legendary two-door sports cars, not its four-door vehicles. Being based on the Mission E sedan concept, the production version of the Taycan will likely feature a sloping roofline. This gives the upcoming all-electric car a look that is distinctly Porsche, but this also means that space in the back seats will be scarce.
This was shown in a preview from YouTube auto reviewer and Porsche enthusiast ThomasGeigerCar, who was able to ride shotgun in a pre-production prototype of the upcoming all-electric sedan. The reviewer was able to film a segment of his video from the back seat of the vehicle, and based on the footage, the Taycan’s rear does appear to be cramped. Considering that the electric car was initially dubbed as a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S, the Taycan’s space for its occupants does seem a bit lacking. Members of the electric car community have even pointed out that the prototype’s rear seats look more cramped than that of the Tesla Model 3, a midsize sedan.
According to Porsche’s style director Michael Mauer, this does not have to be the case. In a recent interview, the director discussed a design that the company has developed to make passengers at the Taycan’s back seats more comfortable. Mauer noted that designing a space for rear occupants was a challenge, considering that the vehicle is pretty high due to its floor-mounted battery pack. To address this, the company came up with what it calls “foot garages,” which are slots in the floor of the vehicle.
“The Taycan is absolutely unique in terms of its proportions. Usually, purely electric vehicles are higher than their conventionally powered counterparts because the relatively heavy and large batteries are positioned in the floor of the vehicle while the occupants sit above them. We were not willing to accept this. However, you can’t just install the batteries in a different place – for reasons relating to driving dynamics alone – as the center of gravity must be as low as possible.
-->“Because you also can’t just make the vehicle wider, the specific challenge was to position the passengers as low as possible without them having to assume a reclined position like in a Formula 1 racing car. We solved this with so-called ‘foot garages.’ They enable a comfortable sitting position even in conjunction with the sporty vehicle height. In retrospect, we can say that this so-called package was the greatest challenge. How high can the vehicle be? How long and how wide should it be, how horizontal or upright will the passengers sit? That’s what’s typically Porsche to me – this striving to find the ideal solution,” he said.
The Porsche Taycan is one of the most highly-anticipated electric vehicles entering the market this year. Bernd Propfe, platform director for Taycan, has even noted that the car, despite being electric, will be a true Porsche through and through, stating that “Despite the zero-emission honors, this is a proper Porsche. The Taycan Turbo can do ten full-throttle 0-100km/h and 0-200km/h sprints without one iota decrease in performance. Even driven flat out for an hour or more, it will only lapse into limp-home mode when the distance-to-empty is zero… power and torque curves will not be dented by a drop of state-of-charge. As long as there is juice, total attack is always an option.”
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Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
Tesla has kicked off passenger ride-alongs for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in Italy, France and Germany. The program allows the public to hop in as a non-driving observer to witness FSD navigate urban streets firsthand.
The program, detailed on Tesla’s event pages, arrives ahead of a potential early 2026 Dutch regulatory approval that could unlock a potential EU-wide rollout for FSD.
Hands-Off Demos
Tesla’s ride-along invites participants to “ride along in the passenger seat to experience how it handles real-world traffic & the most stressful parts of daily driving, making the roads safer for all,” as per the company’s announcement on X through its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account.
Sign-ups via localized pages offer free slots through December, with Tesla teams piloting vehicles through city streets, roundabouts and highways.
“Be one of the first to experience Full Self-Driving (Supervised) from the passenger seat. Our team will take you along as a passenger and show you how Full Self-Driving (Supervised) works under real-world road conditions,” Tesla wrote. “Discover how it reacts to live traffic and masters the most stressful parts of driving to make the roads safer for you and others. Come join us to learn how we are moving closer to a fully autonomous future.”
-->Building trust towards an FSD Unsupervised rollout
Tesla’s FSD (Supervised) ride-alongs could be an effective tool to build trust and get regular car buyers and commuters used to the idea of vehicles driving themselves. By seating riders shotgun, Tesla could provide participants with a front row seat to the bleeding edge of consumer-grade driverless systems.
FSD (Supervised) has already been rolled out to several countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and partially in China. So far, FSD (Supervised) has been received positively by drivers, as it really makes driving tasks and long trips significantly easier and more pleasant.
FSD is a key safety feature as well, which became all too evident when a Tesla driving on FSD was hit by what seemed to be a meteorite in Australia. The vehicle moved safely despite the impact, though the same would likely not be true had the car been driven manually.
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Swedish union rep pissed that Tesla is working around a postal blockade they started
Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Two years into their postal blockade, Swedish unions are outraged that Tesla is still able to provide its customers’ vehicles with valid plates through various clever workarounds.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia called it “embarrassing” that the world’s largest EV maker, owned by CEO Elon Musk, refuses to simply roll over and accept the unions’ demands.
Unions shocked Tesla won’t just roll over and surrender
The postal unions’ blockade began in November 2023 when Seko and IF Metall-linked unions stopped all mail to Tesla sites to force a collective agreement. License plates for Tesla vehicles instantly became the perfect pressure point, as noted in a Dagens Arbete report.
Tesla responded by implementing initiatives to work around the blockades. A recent investigation from Arbetet revealed that Tesla Sweden is now using dozens of private residences, including one employee’s parents’ house in Trångsund and a customer-relations staffer’s home in Vårby, as a way to obtain license plates for its vehicles.
Seko chairman Gabriella Lavecchia is not pleased that Tesla Sweden is working around the unions’ efforts yet again. “It is embarrassing that one of the world’s largest car companies, owned by one of the world’s richest people, has sunk this low,” she told the outlet. “Unfortunately, it is completely frivolous that such a large company conducts business in this way.”
-->Two years on and plates are still being received
The Swedish Transport Agency has confirmed Tesla is still using several different workarounds to overcome the unions’ blockades.
As noted by DA, Tesla Sweden previously used different addresses to receive its license plates. At one point, the electric vehicle maker used addresses for car care shops. Tesla Sweden reportedly used this strategy in Östermalm in Stockholm, as well as in Norrköping and Gothenburg.
Another strategy that Tesla Sweden reportedly implemented involved replacement plates being ordered by private individuals when vehicles change hands from Tesla to car buyers. There have also been cases where the police have reportedly issued temporary plates to Tesla vehicles.
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Czech Deputy excited for Tesla FSD, hints at Transport Committee review
The ANO party lawmaker shared his thoughts about FSD in a post on social media platform X.
Martin Kolovratník, a Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies member, has expressed his excitement for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) after an apparent constituent called for a quick approval for the advanced safety system.
The ANO party lawmaker, who drives both diesel and EV, shared his thoughts about the matter in a post on social media platform X.
The official’s initial statements
Kolovratník kicked off the exchange with a post outlining his coalition’s efforts to scrap highway toll exemptions for electric vehicles and plug-ins starting in 2027.
“Times have changed. Electric vehicles are no longer a fringe technology, but a full-fledged part of operations. And if someone uses the highway network, they should follow the same rules as everyone else. That’s the basis of fairness,” he wrote.
He emphasized equity over ideology, noting his personal mix of diesel and electric driving. “For this reason, there is no reason to continue favoring one technology at the expense of another… It’s not about ideology, it’s about equal conditions. That’s why we clearly agreed within the new coalition: the exemption for electric vehicles and plug-ins will end in 2027. The decision is predictable, understandable, and economically sound.”
-->Tesla FSD enthusiasm
The conversation pivoted to Tesla’s FSD when X user @robotinreallife, who seems to be one of the official’s constituents, replied that other matters are more important than ending highway exemptions for EVs.
“I’m happy to pay for the highway, but I have a question about a much more fundamental matter: The Netherlands will approve the operation of Tesla FSD in February 26, a technology that has been proven to reduce accidents. The Czech Republic has the option to immediately recognize this certification. Do you plan to support this step so that we don’t unnecessarily delay?” the X user asked.
Kolovratník responded promptly, sharing his own excitement for the upcoming rollout of FSD. “I know about it. I like it and it seems interesting to me. Once we set up the committees and subcommittees, we’ll open it right away in that transport one. Thanks for the tip, I’ll deliver the report,” the official noted in his reply on X.
Kolovratník’s nod to FSD hints at the system’s potentially smooth rollout to Czechia in the coming year. With the Netherlands possibly greenlighting FSD (Supervised) in early 2026, Kolovratník’s commitment could accelerate cross-border certification, boosting FSD’s foray into Europe by a notable margin.
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Tesla FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe begin in Italy, France, and Germany
Swedish union rep pissed that Tesla is working around a postal blockade they started
