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Porsche Taycan production
The Porsche Taycan—since way back in its early 2015 Mission E Concept days—has been discussed by Porsche in two distinct ways.
On one hand it’s a Tesla rival, capable of meeting higher standards of performance than the Model S or Model 3. And on the other hand it’s at the lead of a big part of Porsche’s future, as it sees all (or nearly all) of its cars eventually becoming electric.
At the center of Porsche’s intent to one-up Tesla—outside of the Nürburgring bragging rights that might not matter to many Tesla fans—has been its 800-volt electrical architecture, and the faster 350-kw CCS-format charging that it allows without added bulk. Porsche Turbo Charging, as it’s been called along the way, allows an 80-percent charge in as little as 15 minutes, and the capability will be included in all Taycan production models.
DON’T MISS: Porsche Mission E to be called Porsche Taycan
Up until now Turbo Charging seemed like a healthy jab at Tesla and its Supercharger network, and a term that would be smart to place all over charging hardware and marketing materials while the advantage is theirs. However, it may never become a true shot at the bow.
Porsche is big on heritage and continuity, and a hint on model positioning for the production 2020 Porsche Taycan suggests that on the way to the future, the sports-car maker may not be willing to give up all of its internal-combustion past—perhaps especially its “Turbo” badge.
In correspondence from a “Porsche Global Brand Ambassador” at the automaker, The Drive’s Alex Roy was informed of initial pricing from the low $90,000 range up to over $130,000 (in line with what has previously been said). But what accompanied that was that there will be three models, Taycan, Taycan 4S, and Taycan Turbo.
Although this is a single correspondence, and the person who wrote the e-mail might have accidentally included Taycan Turbo—a “legacy automaker” stumble like the oil-change notices that were widespread for early Nissan Leaf owners—it’s crafted in a way that doesn’t leave a lot of room for that confusion.
CHECK OUT: Audi e-tron GT electric sports car is its take on Porsche Taycan
Porsche executives have said previously that the Taycan (Mission E) would borrow some pieces of existing Porsche model nomenclature. However, the term Turbo was not one we expected to see. When contacted by our colleagues at Motor Authority, Porsche Cars North America confirmed that no official pricing or information has been announced.
Porsche Mission E concept, 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show
As of earlier in the year, Porsche said that it was still working on how to present its high-power charging technology for North America. With one each at its 189 U.S. dealerships, several at each of its Experience Centers (LA and Atlanta), and a few more 350-kw CCS stations through Electrify America and EVgo, it’s likely that there will be more than 200 stations capable of charging the Taycan at its peak rate around the time the vehicle is launched.
READ MORE: Porsche already has a prototype that will charge faster than its 350-kw Taycan
Porsche currently has a number of models that are turbocharged yet don’t bear the Turbo badge, so it’s already using the badge to denote top-performance versions rather than everything that uses exhaust-fed forced induction.
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