Porsche confirms Taycan EV powertrain details

PORSCHE has confirmed powertrain details for its first battery-electric vehicle (BEV), the Tesla Model S-rivalling Taycan, which will be officially revealed next year ahead of its Australian launch in the first half of 2020.

 

Formerly known as the Mission E in concept guise, the Taycan will employ two permanently-excited synchronous motors (PSMs) – similar to those used in the Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid racecar – with one driving the front axle, while the other motivates the rear wheels.

 

Given PSMs are the the equivalent of turbochargers, this powertrain combination will deliver a peak power output of more than 440kW (600hp). Maximum torque is yet to be confirmed.

 

As a result, Porsche claims the Taycan can sprint from standstill to 100km/h in “well under” 3.5 seconds while on the way to 200km/h in less than 12.0s.

 

Porsche says PSMs were chosen as “they boast both extremely-high sustained performance and maximum efficiency”.

 

As such, the Taycan will have a driving range of more than 500km, although is its unclear if this figure falls under the incoming, more-realistic WLTP testing cycle or the outgoing NEDC standard.

 

Tesla claims the Model S can hit triple figures in 2.7s and travel between 360km and 834km –  depending on driving conditions, speed and other variables – between charges in flagship 568kW P100D form, which is priced from $248,377 driveaway.

 

The Taycan’s long legs are due to its 800-volt lithium-ion battery pack, which consists of 400 cells of about 4V each. In line with its sustainability goals, Porsche is already studying how the battery pack can be reused in the future.

 

By Porsche’s own admission, the Taycan’s battery pack could have been even larger, but doing so would have also increased its weight at the cost of outright speed.

 

In order to combat this, Porsche has given the Taycan fast-charging capabilities, which allows it to recoup 400km of driving range after about a 15-minute charge at an DC charging station with a Combined Charging System (CCS).

 

For this technology to be readily available to European Taycan owners, Porsche has entered the Ionity joint venture with BMW Group, Daimler AG, Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Company.

 

This collaboration is creating a fast-charging network for EVs in Europe that will feature about 400 parks with multiple stations each positioned every 100 to 150km along main traffic arteries by 2020.

 

All European EV owners will at the same time have access to thousands of brand- and capacity-independent high-power charging stations, which will have a capacity of up to 350kW per point to enable shorter charging times than the systems currently available.

 

Operation of any charging station – including payment – will be managed by the Taycan’s 10.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

 

Alternatively, the Taycan can be charged at an owner’s home via conductive charging using a wallbox or a suitable cable, or inductive charging through a base plate in the floor.

 

According to Porsche, “three figures worth” of Taycan engineering mules have been built to date, with 40 specialists constructing them at its prototype construction department in Zuffenhausen, Germany.

 

More than sixty Porsche engineers were recently sent to the western part of South Africa with 21 Taycan prototypes to complete 40,000km of hot-weather testing.

 

Taycan engineering mules have also been exposed to cold-weather testing. By the time the BEV enters the European market in late-2019, millions of kilometres of testing will have taken place.

 

The launch of the Taycan will help Porsche achieve its goal of every second vehicle it sells featuring electrification by 2025, of which BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) will have an even split.

 

As such, sales expectations are high for the Taycan, with Porsche projecting it will sell about 20,000 units a year, or about two-thirds of the 911 sportscar’s current volume.

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