Porsche planning entry-level Taycan
In addition to the familiar 4S, Turbo and Turbo S variants, Porsche is planning a new entry-level version with rear-wheel drive and a smaller battery for its Taycan electric model. The German company also has its sights set on a specific market to launch the model in.
Head of development Michael Steiner confirmed the plans to car magazine. “There will be entry-level models of the Taycan,” said Steiner. This is especially intended for markets “that do not require four-wheel drive” and here, Steiner cited the Chinese market as an example. It seems quite possible that the new entry-level version of the Taycan will be launched in China first. According to CAR magazines, this could be the case starting next year.
The technical intervention in the Taycan’s E-drive with its two engines is a completely different one than the power transmission in the all-wheel-drive model of a 911. Media speculations on a starting price circulate around £77k in the UK, but we will not know for certain until the official presentation – and Steiner did not want to comment on a possible sales price. The cheapest current Taycan 4S costs £84k in the UK, excluding any grants.
At the premiere of the Taycan in September 2019, Porsche had only presented the two top versions Turbo and Turbo S. Both have a 93.4 kWh battery (gross, 83.7 kWh net). The vehicles reach a power of 460 kW, in overboost the Turbo manages 500 kW for a short time, the Turbo S 560 kW. The Taycan 4S announced in October has an output of 320 kW and 390 kW in Overboost – if the customer orders the large battery for the 4S instead of the standard 79.2 kWh battery, the Overboost will be 420 kW. The maximum charging capacity of the large battery is 270 kW, that of the standard battery with 79.2 kWh gross (71.0 kWh net) 225 kW.
Technical data of an entry-level Taycan with only one motor on the rear axle are not known. In the run-up to the premiere in the summer of 2019, Porsche representatives already hinted that not only all-wheel-drive variants were planned. A low-cost version with the rear-wheel-drive was described as “quite possible” at the time. But a particularly sporty model with rear-wheel drive (with the more powerful drive unit and two-speed transmission from the turbo models) was at least not ruled out.
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