- Porsche’s chief of research and development told Car Magazine that a cheaper, rear-wheel-drive Taycan model is coming.
- Currently, the cheapest Taycan available is the $105,150 Taycan 4S.
- We expect the rear-wheel-drive models to start just under $100,000.
The Porsche Taycan electric sports sedan will add a more affordable rear-wheel-drive variant to slot in below the more expensive all-wheel-drive 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S variants, Porsche R&D chief Dr. Michael Steiner told Car Magazine.
Steiner said that the rear-drive model will use a smaller battery, but we don’t know whether or not that’s the existing 79.2-kWh battery standard on the 4S. The RWD model’s range likely won’t be significantly better than the all-wheel-drive models, because dropping the front motor will likely hurt, rather than help, the Taycan’s efficiency. All-wheel-drive Taycans use only the front motor to power the vehicle while cruising on the highway to optimize efficiency.
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Right now, the 4S is the cheapest Taycan. It starts at $105,150 and offers 522 horsepower with the base 72.4-kWh battery and 563 horsepower with the optional 93.4-kWh battery. The 670-hp Turbo starts at $152,250 and is good for an EPA-estimated range of 201 miles, and the 750-hp Turbo S starts at $186,350 and is EPA-rated at 192 miles. However, during a comparison test we ran a Taycan Turbo S at 75-mph and we estimate that it can go 209 miles between charges on the highway.
Porsche did not comment on the rear-wheel-drive Taycan’s availability in the U.S. but did say that we “can be sure [Porsche’s] electrification initiative will not stop with just three Taycan variants.” We expect that it’ll start somewhere below $100,000.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
