"So what do you want to do now? We could go and do some doughnuts,” says the chassis engineer with ill-disguised hope in his voice. Out here in the frozen wastes of northern Sweden, it seems almost obligatory to scribe some circles in the snow. Which is how I find myself rotating at impressive speed in a Porsche Taycan, at least until it rumbles what we are up to and starts flashing rude messages at its driver.
“It’s the same in all our four-wheel-drive cars,” sighs Christian Wolfsried, Porsche’s handiest hand on the Taycan programme. If I understand correctly, the front and rear axles have a bit of a pow-wow, figure out they’re being asked to do dramatically different things, rapidly conclude the driver is a lunatic and then shut the show down.
I mention this episode now because it seems that Porsche’s intention when inviting me to Lapland in the first place was to reiterate the fact that despite the Taycan being powered by electricity alone, it remains above all a Porsche.
This is the stage in the proceedings at which I become sufficiently uncomfortable to feel the need to issue a hygiene notice. I have not driven the Taycan, I have merely sat next to someone driving the Taycan. Can I tell you that what I felt that day had everything to do with the deftness of its chassis and nothing whatever to do with the evident skills of its driver? Of course not. And even if I could, would I be able to accurately estimate how behaviour on a frozen lake and roads covered with snow translated to what most of you recognise as more conventional conditions? Not with any confidence.
The good news is that you will now be spared the ghastliness of reading an entire story of impressions, only to realise at the last that the author has not driven the car, only by an absence of reference to steering feel. Besides, there is still plenty to be learned and plenty to be said, not least because by Porsche’s own estimation, the Taycan is its most important new car, certainly since the Porsche Cayenne transformed the business beyond all recognition in 2002, and quite possibly since the 1963 launch of the model that became known only sometime thereafter as the 911.
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Sept
Looking forward to Summer coming to an end for once. As to weight it'll be barely any heavier (maybe even lighter) than 4WD V8 hybrid Panamera
Sounds positive to me too
The only concern ( like with most EVs ) is weight, but if they could manage to make a decent drive out of the Cayenne i'm sure they'll be able to with this one as well.
Can i make an early booking for a Cross Turismo please? :P
Nice ice baby
I find myself surprisingly excited about this car in a way that I wasn't by the depressingly ugly first-gen Panamera. I have just seen awkward-looking the Bentley Bentayga and the ghastly horror of the Rolls Cullinan nearby at an event today. The penny dropped, these two haven't translated their design cues at all well and neither did Porsche on the Panamera or Cayenne - but they got them right on Macan and now the second and third gen four-door Porsche seem to look great.
This car though looks terrific and I'm going to guess Porsche tech will be good too. I have a feeling that, as Frankel says, this will be a transformative car. If it looks as good as the adorable MissionE concept and delivers the tech and dynamics then it's a sure-fire hit.
Sure-Fire Hit
I am with you Cersai, it's sure-fire hit make no mistake, and the slightly raised version that's to follow ain't to shabby either.