Lifestyle / Our Exclusive Look: Porsche Ignites The Auto World With Their Fully Electric Taycan

Our Exclusive Look: Porsche Ignites The Auto World With Their Fully Electric Taycan

Lifestyle Nov 19, 2019

by Hina P. Ansari

The long awaited world premiere of the Porsche Taycan — the German company’s fully electric automobile took place in Niagara Falls on a warm fall day. Pre-orders are already in motion as it prepares to hit the market in Spring 2020. And coming from a family of Porsche lovers, it was great to witness the historic automotive’s embrace of the electric future.

In early fall, auto journalists from North and Latin America descended upon Niagara Falls for an extra special reveal. The worldwide launch of the Taycan, the first fully electric automobile by Porsche.

As teased by Marc Ouayoun the president of Porsche Canada during our exclusive chat at the start of this year, it was poetic to near the end of 2019 with this unveiling.

The extraordinary worldwide launch was kicked off by an exclusive presentation and dinner the night before, kicked off by Ouayoun who revealed some interesting factoids about Porsche’s electric vision. It took four years with $1 billion USD poured into the mission to bring the Taycan to life. The Mission E concept was revealed at the 2015 Frankfurt show.

Porsche Taycan — **The evening before the big reveal had us collectively taking in the excitement during a formal presentation by Porsche**. Photo Credit: Hina P. Ansari

Porsche’s Mission E

Porsche’s dreams of electrification didn’t just limit itself to the four wheels of the Taycan. It also announced that the company has invested six billion Euros into full electrification including a completely green plant in Stuttgart.

“Technology and consumer behaviour are the driving forces,” Ouayoun added. “In the auto industry we’ll see more change in five years than we have in last 50.”

“The world is going electric whether you like it or not!” Exclaimed Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America in the slick promotional video presented to the room. He continued with his enthusiast take on the future of exotic automobiles by taking the stage.

He presented Porsche’s C.A.S.E mission:

Connected:

Taycan is the very first car to team up with Apple Music built in.

Autonomous:

Taycan features adaptive cruise control. Porsche will be your sports car of choice. It will always let the driver do the driving.

Focusing on ways to expand the Porsche experience outside of leasing or buying. Porsche Passport program presents a rental option at a monthly fee. Which is appealing to younger buyers. The vast majority (80%) of Passport members are new to Porsche. They are looking to expand the passport program to four new cities including Toronto.

Electrification:

There’s no compromise on power. The focus is to keep the power with high performing electric battery operated vehicles.

Zellmer noted “By 2025 we expect more than 50 percent of all vehicles globally to have a plug either hybrid or fully electric.”

Porsche recognizes that charging accessibility is key especially when 90% of the charging is done at home or at work. In the US plans are underway to collaborate with home installation partner. Porsche already has announced their partnership with Electrify America to provide three years of free charging stations across America.

The Canadian market is new and rapidly growing as noted by Ouayoun. Porsche Canada was established in 2008 and in over 10 years they have made a mark in the luxury auto market with a 3.6 percent growth from last year. Electrify Canada will be working with Porsche Canada to have 32 stations along the major highways in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario along with 19 Canadian Porsche centres that will also have charging stations.

The Big Reveal

The following day we were led to the centre of the world wide launch. The impressive black cube which loomed large along the boulevard, facing the Niagara Falls was definitely an eyeopener and an attraction for us journalists and tourists alike.

Inside various screens indicated the exact timezones in Germany and in China. The reason being, along with Niagara Falls Canada, the world premiere was also being held simultaneously in Berlin, Germany and at in Fuzhou, China.

The reason for those specific key cities was to emphasize the renewable energy sources: Niagara Falls has water, Berlin (showcased with the solar power of nearby Neuhardenberg) and Fuzhou and their wind farm a mile away on Pingtan Island.

After a few words by the key players of Porsche Global, the walls of the room peeled back to reveal not one but two Taycans: Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Porsche Taycan Turbo.

The Charge:

So what can one get with the Taycan exactly? The charge power is pretty impressive if you take into consideration that this is first and foremost a Porsche and it needs to keep the Porsche vibe. With one single charge you can drive the Turbo S for 411 km. Meanwhile with the Turbo you can clock in 450 km per single charge.

Stefan Weckbach, vice president of the Taycan and Porsche Battery Electric Vehicle Product Line outlined the electrifying features of these two incredible vehicles.

Boasting a carbon neutral production of the Taycan Porsche, the car boasts an end-to-end green productivity. The Taycan can go from 0-100 in 2.8 seconds. It boasts a whopping 560 kw peak launch control and a mindblowing 1050 torq. Charging with peak power clocks at 270 kw. In under five minutes of charging, the car is ready for another 100 km in range. It’s the first series car based on an 800 volt system.

The Curves:

The Taycan is a little bigger than the classic 911 and smaller than the Panamera. It boasts a slick slow silhouette and a perfect width to height ratio. They rearranged the battery layout to allow the backseat passengers to sit low to the ground. There’s a slick and sexy sculptural feeling with its slim headlights, four-point optics and exudes the strong heritage of the iconic 911. The most attractive part of the car is the rear: wide shoulders, great stance and it hugs the road. The horizontal lights are precise and highly detailed. The Porsche logo is transparent and completes the overall modern look of the exterior.

The Cockpit:

Porsche’s interior designer Ivo van Hulten wanted to make sure that the heritage of the 911 merged with the future of design without any sort of compromise. He arranged for all elements of the cockpit to be focused around the driver with a clean and modern dashboard and in an integrated design language. The state-of-the-art infotainment system is redesigned. Of course as is with any sports car, part of the exhilaration is being low to the ground and the Taycan keeps true to that. The interior fabric is a leather trim which is also available in sustainable leather or leather free interior.

“For us designers the Taycan has been a really exciting journey,” explained vun Hulten. “We started with a blank paper and created something. The sport icon stands for change which is necessary for Porsche to remain Porsche.”

Porsche Taycan is set to hit the market in the Spring of 2020 and with preorders already taking place. The estimated retail base price is approximately $185,000 USD and $150,900 USD respectively. www.porsche.com

Main Image Photo Credit: www.porsche.com

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...

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Our Exclusive Look: Porsche Ignites The Auto World With Their Fully Electric Taycan

by Hina P. Ansari

Hina P. Ansari

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