Day Eight
Day Eight of Taycan Roadtrip Europe has seen the 12 Porsche Taycan electric sports cars show their all-weather credentials, as media from the Netherlands, Spain and Italy drove them in torrential rain the 424 km from Amsterdam to Mons.
With all-wheel drive and a state-of-the-art suite of safety systems, the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S coped perfectly with everything the horrendous autumnal weather had to throw at them. The media convoy effortlessly tracked down the Dutch coast before turning inland, crossing into Belgium, charging at the Ionity Station in Wetteren and heading across Flanders to the stop for the night in the city of Mons.
Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson Model Line Taycan and E-Mobility, was one of those driving a Taycan in the atrocious weather today. “Even on those sections of the route when we were able to press on, the Taycan was just so incredibly sure-footed. It was just a shame that the media with us today weren’t able to enjoy the beautiful weather that we’ve been having so far on Taycan Roadtrip Europe. That said, it did rather effectively demonstrate what a brilliant car the Taycan is in all weather conditions, and how easy it is to drive it very long distances, even in horrendous weather and with every electrical system working flat out.”
Day Seven
Today’s route for the Taycan Roadtrip Europe started in Bremen in Northern Germany and finished, 449 km later, in Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands. As the longest day’s driving to include the very high speeds possible on sections of de-restricted autobahn, a second brief charging stop was scheduled, where a few cars were selected to demonstrate the way that up to 100 km of charge can be added in just five minutes.
Lunch was taken across the Dutch border at the Ionity station in Apeldoorn, where peak charging rates of over 260 kW were once again achieved. No waiting at the four chargers was required as the media arrived, had their cars’ batteries topped up while enjoying lunch, and got on their way again before the next car arrived.
After lunch, the route left the motorway and meandered its way along the Dutch coast, including crossing the stunning Houtribdijk, a 27 km dam which runs straight across the middle of the IJsselmeer inland sea. This saw the convoy of Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars running in company with another form of alternative propulsion today, as sailing boats tacked and gybed their way alongside the road.
The final leg of the Chinese media’s journey in the Taycan brought them into Amsterdam, and their hotel for the night, which is situated in the up and coming Houthaven district. Tomorrow, we bid them goodbye, and welcome media from the Netherlands, Spain and Italy as the convoy heads across the Low Countries to Mons, in Belgium.
Day Six
The sixth day of the Taycan Roadtrip Europe saw the Chinese media driving across the stunning Lüneburg Heath and down de-restricted sections of the A1 autobahn from Hamburg to Bremen.
The 12-car fleet departed the hotel and initially negotiated the city streets of Hamburg, crossing the river and following a route that allowed the Chinese media to appreciate the beautiful autumnal colours of the Lüneburg Heath National Park, which was utterly stunning in bright sunshine and 25 degree temperatures.
By chance, there were a lot of vintage tractors and horses and carriages in the area, allowing some fortuitously symbolic moments, as the state-of-the-art Taycan found itself juxtaposed with rather more traditional modes of transport.
Today’s route also included 80 km of the A1 autobahn. As sections of it are de-restricted, some of the media were delighted to have the opportunity to really stretch the legs of the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars, achieving very high speeds where the lack of speed limits, light traffic volumes and perfect driving conditions permitted.
As today’s route was only 276 km, no charging stop was required and the cars were able to make their Bremen destination with ease, ready for more driving on this 48 hour media rotation the following morning.
Day Five
It’s one third of the way into Taycan Roadtrip Europe, and the North American media have departed and their counterparts from China have arrived, ready to set off from Hamburg across Lüneburg Heath in the morning.
Even during this planned brief hiatus in the journey, the photographers were out before dawn, capturing stunning images of the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S electric sportscars as the sun came up over Hamburg.
As well as a new contingent of media, a fresh team of experts from Porsche, including Miriam Mohamad, André Müller, Bernd Propfe and Maik-Uwe Zillich will be joining the event for the next 48 hours.
Day Four
The fourth day of the Taycan drive has seen a new peak charging performance this trip for the Taycan, with a mighty 264 kW of charge being supplied by the Ionity Station during a lunch stop near Neumünster.
On the second day of the North American media’s 48 hour rotation, the 12 Taycan fleet has made faultless progress from the Danish town of Borkop all the way down to the great Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Almost as soon as they set off, the cars headed out onto some exhilarating driving roads, before the Drive said goodbye to Scandinavia and crossed the border into Germany.
The lunch, and charging stop, on the A7 at Aalbek at the 233km point of a 320km day, was after a section of derestricted autobahn. The new record charging performance for the drive, with a recorded 264 kW, was achieved thanks to Ionity’s superb charging infrastructure – and a couple of our media guests arriving with less than 5% of charge.
Experts from Porsche, including Matthias Kirchgässner, Director Sales and Marketing Product Line Taycan and Benjamin Passenberg, Manager High-Voltage System Taycan, were on hand to increase the already high level of knowledge of the media participating in the Taycan Drive. During a break from autobahn driving, Ralf Häßler, Director Aerodynamics and Thermal Management, was able to explain how the flat floor and extremely wide rear diffuser, which are possible on an electric car, not to mention the air curtains round the headlights, help the Taycan achieve the lowest drag co-efficient of any Porsche at 0.22.
Day Three
The third day of the Taycan Drive has just finished and the convoy has just arrived at their stop for the night near the Danish town of Borkop, having started the day in Copenhagen.
This has been the first of two days for the American and Canadian media. Today’s drive has seen 12 Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars complete 343 km in a little over five hours, stopping for the drivers to enjoy lunch, and the cars a quick charge, at the Ionity Station in Nyborg.
Feedback from the media has been very positive, with the route coming in for special praise, as it has been particularly scenic today, taking in Själland, the crossing of the Great Belt via the Storebarlt Bridge and, after lunch, the island of Funen.
Mayk Wienkötter has been really moved today by the warmth of the reception wherever the cars have been. “Everywhere we drive, we have been greeted with smiles and waves, especially from the kids. The Taycan just looks so futuristic – they can tell it’s really new and how it is obviously a really special car. I’ve been told that a lot of media have been trying out the launch control system of the Taycan today, and putting to the test how it can be done repeatedly. I did hear from one media colleague that they had set up a camera while their passenger was sleeping, and then performed a 2.8 second 0-100km/h start. That must have been quite the way to be woken up! We’ll be crossing the border into Germany just north of Hamburg tomorrow and the media will experience their first sections of de-restricted autobahn at the wheel of the Taycan, which I believe a few are really looking forward to.”
Day Two
At the end of the second day of the Taycan media launch, the convoy has reached Copenhagen. With media from the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Germany at their wheels, 12 Porsche Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S electric sportscars have made their way from Gothenburg in Sweden all the way to Denmark’s capital today.
410 effortless kilometres have been ticked off with all types of driving included, from city traffic to plenty of exhilarating twists and turns as the back roads followed the Swedish coastline. The route also included some cruising along the motorway to the Ionity Charging Station at Circle K, Varberg Nord. Each car had a quick 20 minute charge while its driver enjoyed lunch from the Airstream travel trailer that is being towed the whole length of the event by a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid. From there, they were soon crossing the border into Denmark via the stunning Øresund Bridge, before serenely negotiating the city streets of Copenhagen.
“It’s been another very successful day,” according to Mayk Wienkötter, our man on the scene. “The cars and charging infrastructure are making it all look very easy.”
Day One
This morning, no fewer than 18 gleaming examples of the first electric sports car from Porsche left Oslo at the beginning of a media drive entirely in keeping with the ambition and significance of the Porsche Taycan. If any doubt remained in anyone’s minds as to the importance of the occasion, it would have been immediately banished by the presence of almost the whole board of Porsche, including CEO Oliver Blume and the press conference’s keynote speaker, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development, Michael Steiner.
In blustery Norwegian sunshine, journalists from China, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland and Norway set off from The Thief Hotel, gliding effortlessly south through Oslo towards the Swedish border. Porsche brand ambassadors Mark Webber and Aksel Lund Svindal were on hand to share their experiences of driving the Taycan, with the sort of insights only possible from two of the fastest people ever on four wheels and two skis respectively. Once clear of the city limits, the media were able to sample the performance-orientated dynamics of the Taycan on some of Norway’superb driving roads, before a long run down the highway to the Swedish border. Once customs formalities had been cleared, the cars forged onwards to the only charging stop of a 400km day’s driving, the Ionity station in Strömstad. The cars’ batteries were topped up during a quick 20 minute stop, thanks to charging rates of up to 258kW being recorded. From there, the cars re-joined the highway for the rest of the journey to Gothenburg.
Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson for E-Mobility and Product Line Taycan for Porsche, said “we have set out to demonstrate the thrilling way that the Taycan drives alongside its sheer usability, with a journey from city to city across Europe. This is only possible due to our car’s range, which is up to 450km according to WLTP, and efficient charging infrastructure that already exists. Tomorrow’s long-distance combination of city streets, highway and back roads takes us to Copenhagen.