Page 59 - Motor Trend (May 2020)

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S
and shaggy-haired lone American driver POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS
for the otherwise buttoned-down German
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT Front/rear motor, AWD
car company.
MOTOR TYPE AC permanent-magnet electric motors
What we all want to know is how Long POWER (SAE NET) 750 combined hp
alters his driving style to accommodate the TORQUE (SAE NET) 774 combined lb-ft
Taycan’s power and weight. Lapping our MAX MOTOR SPEED 16,000 rpm
nearby figure-eight course earlier, I didn’t WEIGHT TO POWER 6.8 lb/hp
change anything—I drove as I always do, TRANSMISSION Front 1-speed automatic; rear 2-speed automatic
but I could feel its tendencies. AXLE/FINAL DRIVE RATIO Front 8.05:1/8.05:1; Rear 8.16:1/15.6:1
In the twisting part of the Fontana SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR Control arms, air springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar; multilink,
course’s infield, Long slams over the curbs air springs, adj shocks, anti-roll bar
… tha-whump! We bounce hard; the Taycan STEERING RATIO 9.3:1-14.2:1
is tough. Hanging on through the esses, the TURNS LOCK TO LOCK 2.5
weight is obvious; direction changes are BRAKES, F; R 16.5-in vented, drilled 2-pc carbon-ceramic disc;
sharp, but not the scalpel cuts of a mid- 16.1-in vented, drilled 2-pc carbon-ceramic, ABS
engine car with its concentrated drivetrain. WHEELS, F; R 9.5 x 21-in; 11.5 x 21-in forged aluminum
Squashed low in the car, the battery TIRES, F; R 265/35R21 101Y; 305/30R21 104Y Pirelli P Zero NF0 Elect
and its heft are helpful because weight DIMENSIONS
transfer diminishes overall cornering grip WHEELBASE 114.2 in
due to tire grip’s nonlinearity with load. TRACK, F/R 66.5/65.2 in
But because the weight is spread out like LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT 195.4 x 77.4 x 54.3 in
a pancake, it increases the polar inertia TURNING CIRCLE 34.1 ft
(even more so in skateboard-platform CURB WEIGHT 5,109 lb
EVs). That’s bad through these infield WEIGHT DIST, F/R 49/51%
esses, where repeated swiveling around SEATING CAPACITY 4
its axis requires extra energy and eats HEADROOM, F/R 38.2/36.8 in
away tire grip that’s better used for lateral LEGROOM, F/R 41.8/32.2 in
acceleration (though the lightning-quick SHOULDER ROOM, F/R 56.4/53.2 in
response of electric AWD is very efficient CARGO VOLUME 2.8 front; 12.9 rear cu ft
with what remains). That could be why TEST DATA
Long is blasting over the curbs. ACCELERATION TO MPH
“How are you driving this car differ- 0-30 1.0 sec
ently?” I ask as we touch 139 mph on a 0-40 1.4
short straight. “This is the fastest I’ve ever 0-50 1.9
been here,” Long says, then he’s on the 0-60 2.4
brakes—regeneration be damned. The 0-70 3.1
giant carbon discs are shedding heat like 0-80 3.9
four smokestacks as we arc into the corner. 0-90 4.8
“The acceleration on exit is so great that 0-100 5.9
I’m modifying the line to get into the power 0-100-0 9.8
as soon as possible.” This makes sense. PASSING, 45-65 MPH 1.1
That night, I drove north through the QUARTER MILE 10.5 sec @ 130.7 mph
desert out to Barstow, windows down, BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 103 ft
heater on full blast to quickly exhaust the LATERAL ACCELERATION 1.02 g (avg)
battery before I clocked its recharge time MT FIGURE EIGHT 23.6 sec @ 0.87 g (avg)
at a 350-kW Electrify America charger. It CONSUMER INFO
thumped over bumps with Porsche’s usual
BASE PRICE $186,350
solidity. Lifting the accelerator brings PRICE AS TESTED $205,360
either “sailing” (no drivetrain resistance) STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL Yes/Yes
or a regen rate that’s too wispy for one-foot AIRBAGS 8: Dual front, f/r side, f/r curtain, front knee
canyoning. A third, heavier rate is needed. BASIC WARRANTY 4 years/50,000 miles
At 75 mph, I scanned across the Taycan’s POWERTRAIN WARRANTY 4 years/50,000 miles
slick, colorful starship display panels. ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE 4 years/50,000 miles
Listened to the motor’s sampled siren. And BATTERY 8 years/80,000 miles
wondered: Are you really a Porsche? Do BATTERY CAPACITY 94 kW-hr
you have passion? Do you hold true to the
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON 67/68/68 mpg-e
Porsche heritage? Here lies the Taycan’s
EPA TOTAL RANGE 192 mi
central question.
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 50/50 kW-hr/100 miles
Stuttgart’s turn to insert Porsche DNA
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.00 lb/mile (at vehicle)
into the cool, sterile electric car has
RECOMMENDED FUEL 120-/240-volt AC & 400-/800-volt DC electricity
sparked life; in many ways, it’s better- FROM 20-MI RANGE, L3 (150 KW) 17 min/27 min
driving than any gasoline Panamera. The CHARGE TIME TO ADD 100/150 MI
Taycan also answers the question: What is FROM 20-MI RANGE, L3 (350 KW) 11 min/19 min
CHARGE TIME TO ADD 100/150 MI
the Porsche we need for a livable planet? Q
MAY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 59