Porsche Taycan – all-electric sports car gets a name

The Porsche Taycan will be the brand’s first fully electric sports car, which was first previewed by the Mission E concept from 2015. According to the German automaker, the name (pronounced tie-can) can be roughly translated as “lively young horse,” and references the leaping horse that has been present on Porsche’s emblem since 1952.

Aside from the name, other details about the Taycan remain unchanged from an earlier report. The vehicle will feature two permanently synchronous motors (PSM) that provides a total system output of over 600 PS (590 hp or 440 kW). The zero to 100 km/h sprint is claimed to be under 3.5 seconds, while the run to 200 km/h is below 12 seconds.

You might think that this level of performance requires the vehicle’s electric range to be compromised but Porsche is saying otherwise. The Taycan is capable of providing a range of 500 km on a single charge (NEDC), and with fast charging on its 800-volt system, 100 km of range is available after just four minutes of charging.

Chasing for electromobility is one of Porsche’s main goals for the future, and the company plans to invest more than six billion euros by 2022, double the expenditure it originally planned. Of that sum, 500 million euros will be directed to the development of Taycan variants and derivatives, around one billion euro for electrification of the existing product range, a few hundred million for the expansion of production sites, and around 700 million euro for new technologies and charging infrastructure.

As you’d expect, these improvements will also involve the Porsche headquarters in Zuffenhausen, which will gain a new paint shop, dedicated assembly area for the Taycan and an expansion of the existing engine plant to manufacture electric drives as well as the body shop. Porsche says production of the Taycan will help create 1,200 new jobs at its headquarters and further investment is also planned for its development centre at Weissach.

No details on when the Taycan will reveal itself in full but based on Mark Webber’s time with a development unit, the electric sports car certainly appeared to impressed the former F1 and Le Mans racing driver.

GALLERY: Mark Webber tests the Taycan

GALLERY: Porsche Mission E test mule and concept

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