Porsche is gearing up hard to mark its entry in the electric vehicle space. What started under the ¡®Mission E¡¯ project has now translated into an all electric Taycan that is displaying impressive stats on all aspects of a drive. Acceleration, top speed, consistent range, you name it and Porsche has a spectacular number to offer.?
Now, the company is conducting endurance tests of the vehicle. The most recent one involved a pre-production unit of the car driven for 3,425 km in under 24 hours at a very high speeds. The goal was to show that the Taycan can deliver consistent high-performance output for prolonged periods, something it says even the Tesla Model S cannot match.?
The claim is true to some extent. While the Model S can deliver a high-power launch continuously under Tesla¡¯s launch mode, the car¡¯s battery charge and temperature do tend to have an impact on the range of the vehicle. The anomalies usually arise at a continuous high-speed run.?
Porsche Taycan endurance test on Nard¨° high-speed track in Italy. (Image: Porsche)
Porsche is coming down hard on these discrepancies to make its own battery-vehicle look better. The results of the endurance test might have shown that it is, in fact, better than the Model S at least in these aspects.?
Porsche conducted the endurance test at the Nard¨° high-speed track in Italy. The Taycan under test was driven at speeds ranging between 195 and 215 kmph for 24 hours straight. The idea was to drain the battery charge at high speeds, fast charge the vehicle, change the driver and then repeat the process all over. The team consisted of six Porsche test drivers in total.?
It is interesting to note that the endurance test was carried out at peak temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of up to 54 degrees Celsius, thus shattering the claims of an underrated performance of electric vehicles in extreme temperatures.?
Stefan Weckbach, Vice President Product Line Taycan, hailed the car¡¯s 800-volt technology, saying ¡°the result achieved in Nard¨° highlights the advantages of the unique 800-volt technology and its high maturity level.¡±
Porsche Taycan was only stopped for charging and change of driver during the test. (Image: Porsche)
A system voltage of 800 volts that also helped the 919 Hybrid win the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times in a row will be marking its entry into series production with the Taycan. In addition, the electric sports car¡¯s thermal management also helped in the endurance run, preventing any potential power losses due to excessive heat generation, as per the company.
This is not the first time that Porsche is putting its electric Taycan to the test. Towards the end of last month, a pre-series Taycan was made to accelerate from 0 to 200 kmph 26 times. The results then indicated an average acceleration figure of under 10 seconds and the difference between the fastest and slowest acceleration to be 0.8 seconds. This, again, highlighted the consistent high-power output of the Taycan¡¯s motor and batteries.?
Porsche will be unveiling the Taycan on September 4 and once the electric sports car is available in the market, Tesla might find it tough to beat it even with the Model S.
By no means is the Porsche Taycan only electric sports car in the making. Porsche's sister entity Audi is also coming up with its PB18 e-tron to rival the Tesla Roadster. Simultaneously, Aston Martin is in the process of making its RapideE a reality with a never seen before 800-Volt battery backing it up. So one thing is for sure, an electric future for the speed enthusiasts looks as exciting as any!?