Turbo in California, 4S in Finland. I got on Porsche's first EV "Tycan"

Proportions unique to Porsche

The "Tycan" announced in 2019, Porsche's first mass-market pure EV. As if to further appeal that the company is betting on the future of the company by adding a new page to its own history, it is produced in the same place where successive generations of the 911 were produced. It is the latest Porsche car that is also a hot topic.

Actually, among the Porsche cars, the 4-door models such as the "Cayenne" and the "Macan" and "Panamera" are being produced in Leipzig, the former East German region, which is the second for this brand. factory. On the other hand, Taikan is a factory in the suburbs of Stuttgart in southwestern Germany, which was newly established after creating space by organizing the head office area, which was cramped for the production of 911, "Boxster", "Cayman", etc. is performed at

As a result, this model is the only Porsche car produced in this area, other than the two-door models such as 911 and Boxster / Cayman. Along with the announcement that the company will invest more than 6 billion euros by 2022, this point should be introduced as one of the stories that show how serious the brand is about electrification. I test drove such a Taycan, which is expected to start running on Japanese roads for a while.

　There are two settings: California in the United States, where the sun shines bright even in winter, and Finland's Arctic Circle, where the sky turns white for only a few hours during the day in winter, contrary to the midnight sun in summer. In the United States, the "Turbo" grade is used in town, on freeways, and on winding roads. In Finland, the additionally set "4S" grade was decided to check the snow / ice road surface.

The new "Taikan" has three grades, "Turbo S", "Turbo" and "4S", and I tried the turbo grade in the United States and the 4S grade in Finland. The body size of the 4S is 4963 x 1966 x 1379mm (length x width x height) and the wheelbase is 2900mm. The maximum output is 390kW (530PS) and the cruising range is 333-407km. The exterior of the spec Taycan 4S is 500 kW (680 PS) for the turbo and 560 kW (761 PS) for the turbo S. It adopted a design that is recognizable as Porsche at a glance, such as Porsche's traditional wide fenders and intonation bonnet. In addition to being equipped with a 4-lamp LED headlight with a built-in matrix beam, a charging port is provided on the front fender. Due to the difference, the grade of Taikan can be identified to some extent from the appearance.

However, the difference in appearance between the grades is not large in the first place, and depending on the selection of the many options available, such distinguishing points are quickly obscured. In any case, it is definitely possible to say that it is the owner of the proportions unique to Porsche, and the impression that it is "remarkably low" as a saloon these days.

　In order to achieve both high rigidity and light weight, the newly developed 4-door body was constructed using various materials such as cold/hot pressed steel and aluminum in the right places. Pure EV adopts a layout that "the drive battery is spread under the floor", which is also a common practice.

However, in order to combine the strong rear-sloping roof design derived from the 911 coupe, which Porsche calls the "flyline", with a rich living space in the rear seats, the battery is not placed under the feet of the rear seat occupants. , Securing a space named "Foot Garage" is a feature that cannot be seen in other vehicles.

The interior adopts a design similar to the original 911, emphasizing the horizontal design and placing the instrument panel in the driver-centered layout. Equipped with a particularly large-capacity driving battery of 93.4 kWh. On the other hand, the 4S grade, which was added about two months later, has the same items as for Turbo / Turbo S as options under the name of "Performance Battery Plus", and has a small capacity of 79.2 kWh. The item is installed as standard as "Performance Battery".

　In addition, the 4S, which Porsche introduces as a "new entry model", has the same 4WD chassis, but the rear wheel motor is de-tuned, which is a hardware feature. The effective diameter of 245mm is the same, but the effective length has been shortened from 210mm to 130mm, making it lighter and more compact.