To some extent, Porsche is taking advantage of uniquely favorable conditions. It still expects to turn a profit in 2020 despite COVID-19, helped both by the Taycan as well as a recovering Chinese car market. The company did have to cut costs, but it has so far refused to cancel new models.

As it stands, the Cross Turismo should play a crucial role in Porsche’s transformation. It’ll join the upcoming Macan EV in bringing electric Porsches to a more mainstream audience. Porsche expects 40 percent of its cars to be completely electric by 2025 — it won’t get there without more practical people haulers. The Cross Turismo’s later release suggests Porsche is confident it will hit that goal without having to rush new models to market.

Autoblog notes that the acceleration numbers have been adjusted, shaving one-tenth of a second on the quarter mile to 10.7, and two-tenths in 0 – 124 MPH to 9.6 seconds. Nothing has changed about the specs, it’s just that Porsche’s data collection shows the car is consistently faster than where it had been rated.

Finally, Porsche is adding more “Function on Demand” subscription features. The company describes this as more convenient, as customers can add extra assists at their leisure without visiting the dealer, but it sounds a lot like paying for tech that’s already installed in the car. According to Porsche, “four functions will be available for purchase and three will be available as monthly subscriptions,” via its Porsche Connect Store. These include Active Lane Keeping assist, an InnoDrive feature that control’s the car’s speed through changing conditions and its Range Manager that operates when you’re using the navigation optimize the balance between comfort and shortest travel time.

There’s no word on pricing for those software updates or the cars themselves, but orders will open in Q4, with US arrivals of the first models scheduled for early 2021.

The automaker didn’t explain why the car was China-only upon announcement, although research chief Dr. Michael Steiner previously said the RWD model was for regions where the weather didn’t necessitate AWD. Take heart, though, as Porsche said this version was “still in consideration for the USA.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the base Taycan reach the US and other countries. The machine could help Porsche better compete against EV brands like Tesla, whose Model S Performance starts at nearly $89,500. It might also be important in light of grim car markets during the pandemic. While EVs have faired relatively well in the current economic climate, pricing is clearly more of a concern than usual.

Porsche’s Taycan EV will apparently come in four models instead of just three like the luxury automaker originally announced. In an interview with Car Magazine, R&D chief Dr Michael Steiner said an entry-level Taycan will be joining the mid-range 4S, the Turbo and the Turbo S.

It will be a two-wheel drive vehicle for markets that don’t need four-wheel drives — “places like China, where weather conditions mean you don’t need it,” he said. In addition, the vehicle will have a smaller battery to make it as affordable as possible for a Porsche EV. The mid-range 4S, as Autoblog notes, has a 79.2-kWh battery with 252 miles of range.

The company is using the charging downtime as an opportunity to hawk its wares. You can visit a customer center (including a car museum and shop) and book track time at the Leipzig circuit.

This is partly about bragging rights, and underscores part of the problem with EV ownership in 2020. While it’s great that there’s a powerful EV charging park, this is just one — Porsche would need many more if it wanted a comprehensive network that could keep cars going on long trips. All the same, this could be considered a peek at a future where Porsche and other companies give Tesla a run for its money when building sprawling, high-powered charging parks.

The ad isn’t terribly complicated. It starts with what appears to be a thief stealing the Taycan from Porsche’s museum in Stuttgart, and quickly evolves into a Hollywood-style chase with several more conventional cars (plus one tractor) in pursuit. While Porsche doesn’t talk much about the Taycan, there’s no question it’s the star. The driver even makes use of the Taycan’s virtually silent EV powerplant to escape, although the machine probably wouldn’t get far in real life given the EU’s artificial noise requirement… not to mention that 192-mile EPA range.

A minute-long version of the commercial will air in the first quarter of the football game, but you can watch an extended version now.

The clip is meant to do more than just boost Taycan sales, of course. This is also Porsche’s (and really, VW’s) attempt at “heralding the era of electric mobility,” and that includes reaching out to customers who might never have considered one of the brand’s cars before. We doubt many people will rush out to buy a Taycan after this, especially not the maxed-out Turbo S variant in the ad. It might, however, give EVs some extra cachet while reminding people that there are alternatives to Tesla.

For context, the current Tesla Model S Performance sells for $99,990 with slightly faster acceleration (0-60MPH in 2.4 seconds versus 2.6) and an EPA-estimated 348-mile range.

There are still reasons you’d consider the Taycan over the Model S, and not just for that Porsche badging. The Taycan may not be quite as fast, but it delivers more sustainable performance. You can thrash around the track or drag strip for a long time without losing your edge. Our early testing suggests there’s nimbler handling, too. And while you can get some posh interior options for the Model S, there’s little doubt that the Taycan has a fancier cabin with perks like Apple CarPlay. Still, range is range. The best performance in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t drive to a nearby city without plugging in.

The starfighter aimed to scream “Porsche” while also being instantly recognizable as a Star Wars ship. “The basic shape of the cabin, which tapers towards the rear, and a highly distinctive topography from the cockpit flyline to the turbines establish visual parallels with the iconic design of the 911 and the Taycan,” said Porsche design VP Michael Mauer. “The front is reminiscent of the so-called “air curtains” (air inlets) that go together with the headlights to create a single formal entity in the Taycan.”

Porsche made a very elaborate “making of” video (above), which is longer than many of the documentaries on its actual cars. During the video, ILM designer Amy Beth Christianson said that Torra Doza’s Star Wars: Resistance “Blue Ace” spacecraft was actually based on Porsche’s 917 Gulf racer, right down to the paint scheme.

Considering that many of the starships from the Star Wars universe are borrowed from real cars, it seems only fair that Porsche would help design a new starfighter. If you squint you can see some Porsche design touches, like the four-point daytime running lights at the front and light bar in the rear. However, there’s no sign of any blasters or R2 unit on the Taycan. Considering the Taycan’s EPA range, S-91x pilots might need to have a Rhydonium fueling station or two along their route, too.

By Tony Markovich

The Porsche Taycan Turbo already passed its biggest initial test. By our estimations, it drives and feels like a real Porsche and deserves the name and crest it wears (the Turbo part is a different story). But its second major test is serving as a properly usable everyday electric car, and its credibility in that regard just took a right hook from the EPA. After initial Porsche estimates pegged the Taycan Turbo’s full-charge range at about 280 miles using the generous WLTP rating, the EPA gave it an official range of 201 miles. Uh oh.

In our First Drive Review of the Taycan, we guesstimated a real-world driving range of about 230-240 miles with the idea that most drivers will be baited into taking advantage of the Taycan’s performance prowess. But even when considering imperfect driving manners, our number is high. If the 201-mile number were to be true, the Taycan would have one of — if not the — worst cost-per-electric-mile ratios on the market.

The size of the Taycan’s battery, which is located in the underbody, is not an issue, as it has a total capacity of 93.4 kWh. The two-tier battery has 33 cell modules, each of which has 12 individual cells. In total, it has 396 cells. When the Taycan launched, Porsche claimed it was the first manufacturer to use an 800-volt system in a production car, compared to other electrics that used 400-volt systems. The change gives the Taycan the advantage of repeated performance and quicker charging. But according to the EPA, that isn’t helping its range.

There’s another relevant number out there, too: 275. As Jalopnik points out, Porsche has already worked with independent testing company AMCI Testing, which gets its readings by using the car in a variety of normal city and highway tasks. It estimates the Taycan has a range of 275 miles.

Electric vehicles are great at accelerating quickly, helped along by that low center of gravity (because of all that battery weight). But the laws of physics still apply and cornering can be a challenge if an automaker wants to give drivers more than 100 miles of range. More range means more battery and more battery means more weight. But the automaker has decades of experience getting cars around tracks in the quickest manner possible and it applied that wealth of knowledge to its first electric vehicle. The result is spectacular.

Angeles Crest Highway is one of the go-to destinations for performance drivers in Southern California. The mountain road is filled with switchbacks, long sweeping turns, and beautiful views. It’s ideal for testing an electric sports car.

During my time behind the wheel of the Taycan, the vehicle handled tight corners with precision. Yes, the mass of battery under the seating area made itself known, but it was less prevalent than I expected. The vehicle’s air suspension and dynamic chassis control do a lot of the heavy lifting here, making the car feel lighter than it actually is.

Yet the steering was tight without feeling twitchy. That makes the car ideal, not just for back-road and track days, but also daily use. In fact, in order to get to (and back from) Angeles Crest Highway, I had to do a lot of freeway and city driving. During that time, the Taycan displayed more composure on rutted bumpy roads than I anticipated.

The automaker says that the Taycan’s ride sits between the Panamera and the 911. So it’s not as smooth as a high-end luxury vehicle, but it is impressively composed on the roads it’ll spend a majority of its time traversing.

Some of that ride quality comes from the electric powertrain. EVs just have a smoother ride because they’re not battling the forces of an internal combustion engine while driving. Also, they go fast. In the case of the Porsche Taycan, it goes very fast.

I drove the Turbo S version of the Taycan with its 750 horsepower and 774 pounds of torque. It’ll do zero to 60 in an internal organ-warping 2.6 seconds. It’ll perform this feat again and again and again as I continually jam down the accelerator between corners in the mountains. Thermal management is tough though, and it’s the reason some EVs can’t continually and reliably perform at their peak. Porsche’s engineers decided that if they were going to put the company’s badge on a car, it should perform like its internal-combustion siblings.

For the most part, it does. But it’s unlikely most drivers will ever use the full potential of the Turbo S. The $185,000 price tag makes this the ultimate enthusiasts Taycan. For the rest of those interested in the car, the $151,000 Turbo will probably do the trick with its 670 horsepower and 626 pounds of torque. Or better yet, the $103,000 4S coming next year that’ll do zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds.

Regardless of which version of the Taycan someone (with a lot of money) buys, they should be happy with the interior. Like other Porsches, the inside is driver-focused. The new digital dash cluster is bright and clear and even with the glare of the sun beating down on it, was easy to read. More importantly, it’s simple to navigate between the on-screen features using the controls on the steering wheel.

The infotainment system in the dash is an updated version of the automaker’s PCM system. I didn’t notice any latency and I’m still a fan of the customizable home screen. There was some oddness with the navigation, but Porsche was very upfront about the fact that we were driving pre-production Taycans. So I’ll have to wait until I get some serious time behind the wheel of a production vehicle to really put the system through its paces.

While we wait, it was nice to see Porsche jump onto the voice-assistant bandwagon. A simple “Hey Porsche” launches the feature and it does the usual tricks. But again, a production vehicle with final software will be needed for a proper test of the feature.

Below the infotainment display is a secondary touchscreen that controls the climate features with quick-launch buttons for navigation, media, phone and settings on the main screen. At the bottom of the secondary display is an area for navigating the main touchscreen and writing out addresses. The biggest issue here is that the cup holders in the center console are right in front of it. So if you have a coffee or soda there, you have to reach around it to use the lower portion of the screen.

Fortunately, the rest of the interior makes more sense and is very comfortable. I found the front seats to be both supportive and cushy enough for a long day of performance and freeway driving. The back seats, however, can be tight if you’re sitting behind someone tall.

If you’re in the driver’s seat, you’ll be happy to know that the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control is outstanding in traffic. It handled cut-ins without incident and is a bit more aggressive to get you back up to speed when it encounters a hole in traffic. A plus for anyone in cities like Los Angeles where someone will tailgate you if you don’t immediately fill a gap in front of you while on the highway.

The lane keep assist is there to nudge you back into your lane, but it’s very subtle. It’s ideal for a sports car, but I ended up just shutting it off after about an hour of driving.

Whether you’re on the highway or backroads, bringing the Taycan to a stop adds another level of tech to the car. Up to 90 percent of the stopping power is from regenerative braking. Even in the Turbo S while pushing the vehicle, most of the braking came from the electric motor slowing the car down. Porsche says braking can create 265kW of power for the car. That’s impressive and it means that the car’s brake pads won’t need to be changed for quite a while.

I will say, that in hard braking when the car hands off the braking to the hardware there’s a noticeable surge in stopping power. It can be alarming during high-performance driving the first time it happens. You will start to anticipate it after a few hours, but I’d rather have smooth braking from start to finish.

Weird braking issues aside, the Taycan is an impressive piece of engineering. Even in pre-production form, the car feels solid and ready for everything from cruising around town to tackling the track. The car’s ability to recharge at up to 270kW means if you find a charging station that can push out that much power, you’ll be back on the road quickly. And frankly, once you get behind the wheel of the Taycan, that’s exactly what you’re going to want to do.