My name is Michael Georgiadis and this is the new Porsche Taycan.
I avoid exaggerations but we could call this a historical moment.
It is the first purely electric Porsche...
and I just performed my first electric powerslide.
Other manufacturers of this range have not yet dared it.
It is not just another electric car. This is a real Porsche...
designed to offer thrill and emotion.
It just consumes clean energy.
This version is the Taycan Turbo.
Of course, there is no such thing as "turbo" in an electric car.
It is a familiar way for Porsche to determine...
the difference in horsepower.
It does becomes a Porsche alright as soon as you switch to "Sport Plus".
The whole car feels stiffer, more direct. You can even hear it.
You can opt for it manually via this menu.
The steering wheel has the right weight...
and all the information you need.
Here, it is even more necessary than in a regular sports model.
See, you don't have gears, not even the sound of the motor.
What you do have is tremendous power.
That makes it harder to figure out how easily you cover distance.
The front end responds immediately...
instantly changing direction entering the corner.
Body roll is minimal.
Suspension, double wishbones at the front...
a multi link rear axle...
air suspension adjustable in three stages...
The perfect control.
It also features the system with the electromechanically...
controlled anti-roll bars and yes, I spelled that out.
It weighs...
2.3 tons...
but has a light feel.
You almost never feel its weight.
Feels safe, rolling on its long wheelbase of 2.9 meters.
However, it is adjustable at the same time.
Entering the corner, you hit hard on the brakes...
to put some load on the front tires and let the rear end loose.
The rear electric motor has a two-speed transmission.
The moment you feel the acceleration curve flattening...
you 're in for a second kick.
The 4-wheel drive system works amazingly.
Of course, no smart differentials here.
The electric motors, with their instantaneous reaction...
constantly change the distribution of torque. You can see it...
on display on the dashboard. Plus, they do torque vectoring. Superb.
It responds just in time...
to give the car oversteering characteristics.
But when you apply a certain angle of opposite lock...
it sends enough torque at the front to pull the car out of the corner...
and get it launched to the next straight.
Powersliding like a boss.
265 kW is the maximum potential energy recuperation.
Very important in order to achieve the 450 km of range...
that Porsche promises.
Most of this recovery is, of course, done under braking.
That sometimes makes the feel of the brake pedal a bit weird...
a bit stiff. It loses adjustability.
However, the stopping power is inconceivable.
For the Taycan Turbo...
Porsche announces 0-100 km/h in 3.2''...
and 0-200 km/h in 10.6''.
One might call it "flight mode".
For such speed, a pilot's rather than a driver's license is needed.
Well, the Tatoi Military Airport is ours for half an hour.
The moment of truth.
An empty runway...
680 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque...
from two electric motors with Le Mans winning technology.
Porsche uses a special design...
with the hairpin-shaped copper wire inside the stator.
That allows for smaller dimensions...
and higher output.
Now, another thing.
The launch control. Porsche has always been very vocal about...
the launch control of its cars, even with PDK gearboxes.
It is a proof of performance and also reliability.
Porsche says you can perform launch starts again, and again.
Let's put that to the test.
Left foot on the brake...
right foot on the throttle.
On the right screen we read: "Launch Control Activated".
You release the brake and...
Take off!
Already at 100...
150...
200...
230...
250...
255 top speed.
And incredible brakes, incredible brakes...
Incredible brakes.
Let's do it again. This is the magic.
Without the classic engine and transmission...
launching is second nature for the Taycan, it can do this all day
It doesn’t bounce off the line, the transmission beneath you...
does not sound or smell like suffering.
It feels as if you are not stressing the car at all.
As if it was made to do just that.
0-100 km/h in 3.2'', 0-200 km/h in 10.6''.
Electric cars will win us over.
Electric cars can win us over little by little, anyway.
In other areas as well.
This is exactly what the Taycan has come to do.
It's a missionary of electrification for the most traditional audience.
For those who will not give the Tesla proper credit...
because they grew up with Porsche and Ferrari.
On the interior nothing is the same...
but nothing feels strange compared to the Porsches we know.
The analog tacho in the center of the panel found on the 911...
here has reasonably been removed...
leaving room for a fully digital configuration...
with many customization options.
Wanting to highlight the ecological and digital character of the Taycan,
they have a new, leather-free concept...
without buttons on the dasboard and console.
All functions are controlled by touch screens...
reminiscent of a fighter cockpit.
However, we overdid it with the fun pedal.
Waiting for the Taycan to charge...
we need to remember three numbers: 93.4, 800 and 270.
The first is the kWh of battery capacity.
The second, its electrical circuit volts.
The other electric cars have 400.
The third number...
is the maximum rate of charging capacity.
That means that, should you find the right charger...
that will supply 270 kW...
it can give you 80% of the 450 km of total range...
in just 22 minutes.
The problem is that there are few such chargers in Europe...
and none in Greece.
However, the ability to quickly charge the battery...
allows a charge of 80% via a household socket...
in about 9 hours.
The Taycan is a smaller car than the Panamera.
They wanted it to be more extreme, closer to the idea of a "supercar".
Of course, this means less space for passengers and luggage.
There are two luggage compartments, a rear one and a smaller front one.
They have taken full advantage of the electrical drivetrain...
to design a body with just 0.22 of drag coefficient.
Its design is a rare blend of art and aerodynamics.
A marriage of retro elements and references to the timeless 911...
with futuristic details.
While driving in the "Normal" mode it has a limousine feel.
Although there is no engine and gearbox...
no other strange noise bothers you.
The tires are huge and the rolling is essentially heard a bit...
but it is not a problem.
No aerodynamic noise whatsoever.
With a 0.22 aerodynamic coefficient, what noise could there be?
The Taycan stands with tremendous confidence...
in the face of any competition.
It is perfect. Technology, performance, character...
and mostly, the Porsche name which is also its greatest challenge.
You see, the traditional ones...
will always compare the first electric Porsche...
to the most iconic ones of the brand's history.
Like that one, over there.
There is no dispute between the air-cooled boxer engine...
and the Taycan electric motors that have won at Le Mans.
We wouldn't have one without the other.
There is the common Porsche DNA.
And it goes deeper than the design influence of the 911 on the Taycan,
which is more than obvious.
The 911 was groundbreaking, with that engine hung back there...
when no one had dared even to imagine it.
Respectively, the Taycan is also a pioneer.
It incorporates 27 award-winning innovations...
13 of which are world firsts.
Up to now we were wondering whether there's life after gasoline.
The Taycan is the deafening answer to that.
Porsche proves that long tradition and glorious history...
are by no means obstacles to the evolution, but the opposite.
They are the springboard for fleeing forward.