The updated 2024 Porsche Taycan battery-electric sports sedan has completed a 587km drive on a single charge while cruising at speeds of up to 120km.
Set to land in Australia before the end of 2024, the new Porsche Taycan has already been teased in the snow and shown setting a barnstorming 7min7sec lap of the Nurburgring in what’s thought to be a new performance flagship version called the Taycan Turbo GT.
Now the German sports car marque has turned its attention to efficiency gains made with the EV.
The test was carried out on South California’s Highway 405 and 5, where late-stage prototypes were fitted with the facelifted Taycan’s all-new Performance Battery – believed to be the same 100kWh power pack fitted to the incoming all-new Porsche Macan EV.
The battery should be able to manage a 322kW charge, although during the real-world test on US highways the chargers delivered ‘only’ a 300kW top-up, with a 10-80 per cent recharge taking less than 20 minutes.
Some journalists on the drive even recorded a 6-80 per cent charge taking just 14 minutes.
Even though a 322kW charge is still below the 350kW peak claimed by Hyundai for its IONIQ 5 SUV, some believe Porsche has an advantage with its battery’s advanced cooling system that can withstand a peak charge rate for longer than current rivals, including Tesla.
The current Taycan can travel up to 505km (WLTP-verified) with the old Performance battery and can be charged at up to 270kW.
“The range test in Southern California impressively demonstrated how efficient the reworked Taycan is. We are continuing to focus on our ‘fast travel’ strategy for electric mobility – short charging stops paired with high real-world ranges thanks to efficient drives,” said Taycan’s model line boss Kevin Giek.
Carried out in sub-optimum temperatures (for batteries) ranging from 15-16 degrees Celsius, the new Taycan should be capable of travelling even further in warmer climates.
Said to have received “extensive updates” over the Taycan that was launched back in 2019, the new-look battery-electric sports sedan will feature new four-element LED Matrix headlamps, a redesigned front bumper, fresh wheels and minor changes to the rear-end.