Strip the Porsche Taycan back to its specification sheet and the character is already there: 2× AC synchronous electric motors, 300 kW (402 hp) – 760 kW. Porsche built from 2019, as electrification stopped being an experiment and the crossover took every market. Emiel Burki and Mitja Borkert under Michael Mauer drew it.
The background
The Porsche Taycan is a battery electric luxury sports sedan and shooting brake car produced by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. The concept version of the Taycan, named the Porsche Mission E, debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Four years later, the production Taycan was revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. As Porsche's first series production electric car, it is sold in several variants at different performance levels, and may spawn further derivatives in future models.
It is built on the J1 electric car platform shared with the similarly shaped Audi e-tron GT. The name "Taycan" () is a reference to the steed on the coat of arms of the city of Stuttgart, found on the Porsche crest. In Turkish, tay means colt or young horse, and can means lively. The "Turbo" name used in the higher trims, being electrically powered, does not mean to have turbochargers, but to have "increased power".
The engineering
Power comes from 2× AC synchronous electric motors; 300 kW (402 hp) – 760 kW is the published figure. It weighs 2140 -. Work it out per tonne and you get about 140 horsepower — brisk everyday performance. It shifts through a 1-speed direct-drive (front 8.05:1) / 2-speed automatic (rear; 16:1 and 8.05:1). The wheelbase is 2900 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Stuttgart, Germany. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Nissan Z, the Hongqi E-HS9, the Maserati MC20 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Porsche stablemates include the Porsche P1 and the Porsche Type 12.
What it costs now
The money question first: $21,600–$34,600 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $1,735–$2,730 a year. Insurance sits around $1,750–$2,580 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.