Porsche Taycan

Porsche hasn’t betrayed its heritage of gorgeous, fossil-fuel-burning dream cars, but the latest electrifying masterpiece to come from its brand-new €700 million Stuttgartbased production facility has begun a new chapter

IS THE NEW PORSCHE CRYING, DUE TO THE LOSS OF ITS FAMOUS FUEL BURNING POWER PLANT? e black stripes next to its headlights seem to resemble tear streaks. Perusing photographs of the new Taycan over the last couple of months, in which the car was white or silver, I couldn’t get used to its look; there was something wrong with its face.

I saw the blue Taycan Turbo S in the esh for the rst time at the Porsche Centre in Cape Town. ose lines appeared to blend into its darkcoloured body almost invisibly. At that moment, Porsche’s familiar face returned, albeit a new version.

When it comes to cars, I’m a bit of a caveman. I like the warmth and crackle of a re. I prefer to move around in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. at’s why I followed the development of the electri ed Porsche with keen interest. No other brand does a limousine like Porsche, but it had to do what hadn’t been done before >>

without jeopardising its heritage or disappointing its fans.

You can read as much as you want about the new Taycan, and you can watch all those exciting drag-race videos, but experiencing it live will still overwhelm you. From the get-go, it feels and runs as a Porsche should, but quietly. It doesn’t just accelerate; it’s instantly fast. Violent, thrilling and exhilarating. To the sound symphony of the USS Enterprise, slamming both driver and passenger into its lush leather seats, it rearranges your organs – all of them, by the feel of it.

You can even shi the Taycan’s gears, once, from rst to second, at around 100km/h. Its forward motion continues relentlessly – Porsche claims it can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, which is almost as fast as an F1 car. Boy, do I believe it! You can do this over and over again, as o en as you want.

It runs like a Porsche, its road holding outstanding as in all its other models. With its battery under the oor, its centre of gravity is low and its rear-wheel steering helps it to move swi ly on narrow bends.

I’ve driven fully electric cars before; the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, and with the Jaguar I-pace I experienced my

rst dirt road in silence. At the

2015 Frankfurt International

Motor Show, I was lucky to drive on the Autobahn in the most muscular Mercedes-benz AMG at the time, the SLS Electric Drive. Flying past tra c at 200km/h in complete silence was eerie.

e SLS Electric Drive featured four water-cooled electric motors, one at each wheel, resulting in a total output of 552kw and 1000Nm of torque. Its top speed was electronically limited to 250km/h, which was also its range, and it could go from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds. It also set a record lap time of 7.56 minutes at Nürburgring. In 2013, the price of the SLS Electric Drive in Germany was a staggering

€416 500, and Mercedes-benz sold fewer than 100 units worldwide.

The four-door, four-seater

Taycan Turbo S is from another universe. It costs less than half of what the SLS retailed for in 2013, and it’s mass-produced in a brand-new €700-million factory in Zu enhausen, Stuttgart. It features two electric motors, one in the front, one in the rear, resulting in all-wheel drive. Its so ware synchronises the two, depending on the road surface and performance requirements. It’s a more re ned electric drive. Porsche has incorporated much of their electric “Le Mans” experience in the Taycan. It’s the

rst electric production car with 800 volts, bearing in mind its competition uses 400. Its high voltage improves performance and reduces the time it takes to recharge it drastically – using a decent charger it takes around 20 minutes to load 300km of range. (By the way, the Taycan Turbo S can do a lap of the Nürburgring in 7.42 minutes.)

Inside it’s a Porsche, yet it’s a copy of neither the 911 nor the Panamera. I especially love its xed panoramic glass roof. What of the Turbo S badge, which doesn’t stand for tted turbos anymore? Now, it’s Porsche’s description of a very sporty car. While the Turbo S is the agship Taycan, the Turbo and the 4S don’t disappoint either.

Porsche has successfully injected their DNA into a mode of transportation that’s usually aseptic and soulless, turning it into another exciting Porsche model. Ground-breaking, revolutionary and silent yet unmistakably a Porsche. It has a unique combination of comfort and performance. Zu enhausen has delivered as promised; the new Taycan is soul electri ed.

“Slamming both driver and passenger into its lush leather seats, it rearranges your organs – all of them, by the feel of it”