Porsche has taken its fully electric Taycan to the tuners in a big way, turning it into the fastest production car it’s ever built, in addition to increasing the model’s range, and reducing its charge time.
The updated model will be coming to New Zealand later this year in two body styles, a sedan and Cross Turismo wagon, the latter being available with an off-road package.
We’re not sure what Stuttgart’s put in their coffee when they drummed up the new Taycan, but the Turbo S variant can now hit 100km/h from a standstill in an obscene 2.4 seconds. The newfound performance is thanks to a bump in power of 140kW with launch control engaged, bringing the top variant’s overall output to 700kW.
The standard Taycan hasn’t gone untouched either and can now perform a 0 to 100km/h sprint in 4.8 seconds, 0.6 faster than its predecessor thanks to an additional 60kW at the wheels.
Driving range has increased to 678km, albeit depending on the variant and body, while charging times are now faster too.
In perfect conditions, which Porsche says is 15 degrees Celcius, the Taycan can recharge from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes even though gross battery capacity has increased from 93 to 105kWh.
Helping the battery retain as much charge as possible while driving is its new and improved energy recuperation capacity. When decelerating from high speeds, the updated Taycan can recuperate up to 400kW of energy compared to the previous figure of 290kW.
All updated models will feature adaptive air suspension as standard, while a more advanced Porsche Active Ride system can be optioned on all-wheel drive models.
The Taycan’s design has also been given a touch-up all over thanks to new front fenders, newly styled lights at the front and back, and an illuminated Porsche logo on the rear light strip. Porsche’s new ‘Turbonite’ accent finish will also make an appearance on the Turbo and Turbo S models.
Moving inside, the instrument cluster, infotainment display and passenger display have all been optimised and given additional functions. For example, a new in-car video function allows occupants to stream media on the central and passenger displays.
Porsche New Zealand is taking orders for the updated Taycan now, with prices starting from $215,000 for the standard rear-wheel drive variant. The first arrivals of the model are expected in the second quarter of 2024.
