Current Base Porsche Taycan – Ultimate Guide
Porsche rolled the dice with the Taycan, its first all-electric vehicle, back in 2019. It’s a strategic gamble that has paid off big time. The Taycan outsold the iconic Porsche 911 for the first time in 2021 and is currently the carmaker’s third bestseller, only behind the Cayenne and Macan SUVs. Today, Porsche offers the EV in more than ten different variants, and it all starts with this one – the entry-level Taycan.
It does not obliterate the 60 mph sprint like, say, the Taycan Turbo S. The base Taycan doesn’t even have an all-wheel-drive system. What it does have is an $86,700 price tag, making it the cheapest way to acquire a Porsche EV. It also benefits from the brand’s reputation when it comes to performance and build quality.
The base Taycan, new for the 2021 model year, ditches the front/rear dual-motor setup in favour of just a single rear motor. In its base form, the electric motor produces 321 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque (or 402 hp and 254 lb-ft for brief spurts with the Overboost function), and it’s paired with a two-speed automatic transmission and a standard 79.2-kWh Performance Battery Pack. With this standard setup, the base Taycan returns about 220 miles of range in ideal conditions. An optional 93.4kWh battery is available for even more horsepower, performance and an estimated driving range of 280 miles.
It may lack the punch of its more expensive siblings, but the base Taycan’s single rear motor delivers its power quickly enough, and the operation of the two-speed transmission is seamless. Optional extras like the four-wheel steering and air suspension make for an even better driving experience.
The base Taycan is no class leader in terms of acceleration, needing 5.1 seconds to hit 60 mph. A Taycan Turbo S can shave off half that time. It will not win many races on the drag strip, but the base Taycan might just be all the car you need for everyday usability.
Pictures
Video – Porsche Taycan (Base)
Press Release – January 19, 2021
Standard Taycan model launches for the USA
An electric Porsche with an MSRP of $79,900, rear-wheel-drive, and all the compelling Taycan attributes
Atlanta, Georgia. A new variant of Porsche’s electric sports car is set to launch – joining the Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S. Simply called the Taycan, the new model is now on sale in the United States. This variant differentiates itself through its rear-wheel-drive layout – removing the front power unit takes approximately 200 pounds of weight from the front of the car.
The MSRP for the new 2021 Taycan is $79,900, not including the $1,350 delivery, processing and handling fee. Like all other Taycan models, it also qualifies for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. EPA estimated range will be available before model launch. The 2021 Taycan is expected to arrive at U.S. dealerships starting early Spring 2021.
Power unit
The Taycan shares the same rear power unit and battery architecture as the Taycan 4S, and utilizes a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor with a rotor diameter of 245 mm and length of 130 mm, as well as a 600-amp pulse inverter. Like all other Taycan variants, the Taycan benefits from a two-speed transaxle to provide strong and seamless acceleration, with efficient highway cruising.
Two battery configurations are available. The Performance Battery features a gross capacity of 79.2 kWh and can charge at up to 225 kW. The larger Performance Battery Plus weighs approximately 170 pounds more, features a gross capacity of 93.4 kWh and can charge at up to 270 kW. Regardless of size, both take just 22.5 minutes to charge from 5% to 80% when the appropriate battery state of charge and temperature are met, and the car is connected to a compatible high-speed DC fast charger.
These two battery configurations also determine performance potential. The standard Performance Battery provides the power to produce up to 402 horsepower (300 kW) and 254 pound-feet of torque from the Taycan’s single rear motor. When equipped with the optional Performance Battery Plus, the motor can produce up to 469 hp (350 kW) and 263 lb-ft of torque. Regardless of battery configuration, the Taycan can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 5.1 seconds and has a top track speed of 143 mph. With the standard battery, the Taycan covers the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds, while the larger pack shortens the sprint to 13.5 seconds.
Brakes and chassis systems
The Taycan comes standard with 19-inch Taycan Aero wheels, six-piston front brakes and four-piston rear brakes. This setup is similar to the Taycan 4S, but the color of the wheels and the calipers differ. The Taycan will feature black calipers and alloy wheels painted in brilliant silver as standard, while the 4S is equipped with red calipers and polished alloy wheels with high gloss black spokes. As on other Porsche Taycan models, Porsche Surface Coated Brakes and Porsche Ceramic Coated Brakes, as well as 20- and 21-inch wheels are optional. Regenerative braking via the brake pedal remains, as does its class-leading 265 kW recuperation rate.
Typical of Porsche sports cars, Porsche Active Suspension Management is standard. This function serves to adjust the dampers to suit the ride from soft for comfortable highway cruising to stiff for the track or mountain road. For maximum flexibility, the suspension setting can be controlled independently via the touch screen or dash button or together with powertrain calibration via the touch screen or optional steering wheel mounted mode dial. Adaptive air suspension can be ordered as an option.
Typical Taycan
Even in rear-wheel drive layout, the Taycan still expresses all the performance attributes of its more powerful siblings. With a coefficient of drag of just 0.24, it remains the most aerodynamically efficient production Porsche (when equipped with the optional air suspension the figure drops to 0.22). The low-slung battery gives the Taycan the lowest center of gravity of any road-legal Porsche. And the rear-wheel drive Taycan adds one more superlative: it is the most powerful standard model variant Porsche has made.
The same features found on other Taycan variants are all here: Porsche Connect with Apple CarPlay, Function on Demand, Plug and Charge, Apple Music, over the air updates, and three-years of free Electrify America charging—all included with the car as standard. Additional optional equipment such as Porsche InnoDrive with Traffic Jam Assist, a 19.2 kW on-board charger, Head Up Display, 14-way seats with massage functionality, upgraded audio systems, and multiple exterior colors and interior trims are available to choose from- all in a Porsche typical sports car drive train layout. Taycan buyers will be able to track the progress of their car from their smartphone, from build to delivery, through the Porsche Track Your Dream service, also available for the 911.
