Porsche Unveils Taycan Base Model Exclusive to China
Today Porsche unveiled a new base-model of the Taycan electric sports car. Thanks to a single permanent-magnet motor on the rear axle, it will make 469 horsepower, a top speed of 149 mph, and accelerate from 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds.
Porsche will still offer either a 79.2 kWh battery or the larger 93.4 kWh “Plus” version. Depending on which of these Chinese buyers chose, they will get either 257 or 304 mile of range. That’s based off of the NEDC rating, which is known to be a little more forgiving than the EPA’s system.
As with the other Taycans, there will be regen braking, but due to the lack of AWD, the regen shouldn’t have as long of a window of effectiveness. Although the peak figure of 265 kW of possible peak regen should be attainable, it just won’t go for as long at a time.
There is also a two-speed gearbox, which helps the Taycan handle the insane torque from the motors on the low-end, but also maintain a reasonable efficiency while cruising at higher speeds. Standard, the RWD Taycan will actually get a downgraded spring suspension, which can be upgraded to air-suspension to fit in with the other models.
Official pricing hasn’t been released, especially not for non-China markets. You could still safely expect this base-model variant to come in somewhere below the $100k mark, under the Taycan 4S. Porsche now sits inside of Tesla Model S territory with these entry-level models.
