Even as an electric vehicle, the Porsche Taycan Turbo delivers a performance on par with a petrol-powered sports car
In 2015, Porsche showcased its Mission E concept, its first purely electric sports car that served as the blueprint for the Taycan (pronounced ‘tie-khan’). The name translates as “lively young horse” in Turkish, which is a reference to the steed that adorns the Porsche crest.
Given the fact that fully electric vehicles (EVs) are still a rarity on the roads, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity when Porsche invited members of the media to the Sepang International Circuit to experience the Taycan Turbo. Suffice to say it was a memorable day, and we developed a newfound respect for the EV.
See also: Porsche 911 GT3 Takes Sports Driving To The Next Level
Here are five things we discovered about the Taycan Turbo:
It is driven by performance
It is powered by two electric motors, one on the front axle and the other on the rear axle, thus making it an all-wheel-drive vehicle. The front engine uses a single-speed gearbox while the rear uses a Porsche-developed two-speed transmission. This allows the Taycan Turbo to automatically switch between an aggressive first gear during initial acceleration and a long second gear to maintain speed during high speed.
Speaking from experience, nothing beats the feeling of first hitting the accelerator of an EV, and the Taycan Turbo immediately launched us forward at remarkable force; after all, it can achieve the century sprint in just 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 260km/h.
What was even more impressive was that the feeling of control was always present even as we turned the corners at high speed on the Sepang racetrack.