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Porsche x LA Auto Show: Porsche Taycan GTS Models Unveiled

As part of their LA Auto Show appearance, Porsche has just unveiled their new Taycan GTS models. Available for both the sedan and new Cross Turismo body-styles, the GTS—as has been the tradition with other Porsche models—slots into the Taycan range between the 4S and Turbo trims. This also marks the first time that the venerable GTS badge will feature on an all-electric car.

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Much like its GTS predecessors, this places the new model in that “sweet spot” within the existing roster. What this translates to for the Taycan GTS, is a model that continues to provide an exemplary performance package without the need to opt for the Turbo models, the latter of which tend to come with an excess of features (and with them, a higher price) that the typically-pragmatic GTS owner would rather forgo.

Just a cursory glance at the specs and features immediately suggest that the Taycan GTS also strikes that perfect balance of power and handling, making it not only the better choice as an everyday car, but arguably for the race track too. Both the Taycan GTS and Taycan GTS Cross Turismo come standard with the 93.4 kWh battery and carry over the 800-volt architecture. They also retain the same dual motor all-wheel drive configuration and produce 590 hp, compared to 426 hp and 670 hp in the 4S and Turbo respectively. This makes the GTS models good for 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

Porsche also states that the GTS models incorporate the suspension setup from range-topping Taycan Turbo S, though they’ve also done further tuning and tweaking in order to optimize the geometry for the models and their intended audience. This should make it the most spirted trim in the lineup in terms of driving dynamics, road feel and responsiveness, making for a Taycan that is more driver-focused and fun to drive than any other model in the roster.

The Taycan GTS models also distinguish themselves visually, with the latest trim coming standard with the SportDesign exterior package along with special GTS logos. The side skirts, rear diffuser and window trim are also painted in high-gloss black as standard. The Cross Turismo GTS also differs from other CT models by having its rear spoiler painted to match the main body color, and most notably, there is an absence of plastic cladding over the wheel arches seen on all other trims.

Other distinctive standard features include larger front rotors (390 mm) than those on baseline 4S models (360 mm), and the GTS also has a unique Race-Tex interior that’s similar to what is seen in other GTS-badged Porsche cars. According to Porsche, the Electric Sport Sound is now “deeper and louder” from both inside and outside the car. Also standard fare are Adaptive Air Suspension, PASM, PTV Plus and Sport Chrono Package. Features such as PDCC, PCCB, 21″ wheels and rear-axle steering remain as options. Also exclusive to the GTS is the optional “GTS Interior Package” which includes deviated stitching, unique embroidery and matte carbon fiber finishes.

As for pricing, the GTS sedan starts at $131,400 USD while the GTS Cross Turismo has a base price of $133,300 USD. Porsche is taking orders right now, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second-quarter of 2022.

Considering the total package, I believe that the Porsche Taycan GTS and Porsche Taycan GTS Cross Turismo models are the most impressive Taycan models to date. For most of us, this shouldn’t be surprising if even up for debate—after all, the GTS badge and the word “best”, have become somewhat synonymous over the past few years when it comes to Porsche cars. It’s definitely the one I would buy, if I had to do it all over again.

November 17, 2021 / Comments Off

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Porsche Taycan 4S – 1-Year Anniversary

Hello again, everyone. This post is a little bit late to the party, as my 1-year anniversary of Taycan ownership was on June 26. Like I’ve done in previous ‘milestone’ posts, I’ll be sharing a Q & A segment as part of the celebration. Also, I’m pleased to share some professional photos of the car that were taken by @deborja.

Before I do that, I’ll also provide an update on how my experience has been since my last (9-month) ownership update post – this part will be relatively brief. Since the ‘big update’, life with the car has been without incident or irregularities other than one trip back to the dealership. This was to get the Freon in the A/C charged up – and just in time for a week of consecutive 35+ °C days, too.

PCM functionality continues to be the Achilles heel of my experience, with performance continuing to be laggy and at times, dysfunctional. Easy work-arounds make the problem far from catastrophic, and the belief that a future update(s) will address the issue has shelved the urgency to get it fixed yesterday.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the celebratory Q & A!

Q: Are there good incentives for buying an EV where you live (Canada)?

A: Unfortunately there are no provincial or federal EV incentives that any Taycan model will require for. That is because of its price. The only one that exists that I am aware of (federal) requires the car to have an MSRP of less than $55,000, and grants a $5,000 incentive if qualified.

Q: How many times do you use public charging, and for how long each week?

A: Ever since my 3 years of free charging @electrifycanada started (about 2 months ago), I’ve been visiting the fast charger 2-3 times per week. Prior to that, I charged 99% of the time at home. Now, I don’t charge at home at all. I typically spend around 20 mins on average at the charger for each session, getting from a low charge to around 85%.

Q: How did you decide on getting the Taycan? Awesome car btw!

A: Great question. And thank you. It’s hard to put my finger on it exactly, but I will say that I was NOT principally motivated to get an EV. As I’ve said before, the Taycan just happens to be an EV, and is more importantly a Porsche, first and foremost. It was more of a “this seems cool, let’s try it out” decision, rather than one I arrived at after going through painstaking amounts of research, analysis and introspection.

Q: How does our Alberta winter effect the efficiency of the batteries? e.g. with cabin heater on.

A: This continues to be one of the biggest challenges of EV ownership, and living in Calgary only exasperates this. All else being equal, expect as much as a 35% drop in range during our extreme winter conditions (-25 °C or colder). In ideal temperatures (near the +20 °C mark), 500 km of range is relatively easy to achieve, especially with mostly city driving.

Q: If you were to change two things about the Taycan out of the factory, what would it be?

A: If I absolutely had to (AND it was free), I’d love to have had PCCB and Chalk exterior paint. Otherwise, I’m very happy with my spec (and the total price) and feel that I got things just the way I want them. This is especially after having driven some of the dealer demo cars, which just don’t “feel right” compared to mine. For example, not having the Sport Chrono knob on the steering wheel is just awful!

Q: Biggest selling point of the Taycan to a regular person (not a car enthusiast)?

A: For someone who isn’t necessarily swayed by the ‘fun’ aspects of Porsche ownership, I’d have to say that for a new (Canadian) owner, it’d have to be the 3 years of free charging at all @electrifycanada stations that come with the purchase of a Porsche Taycan. And for those new to EVs, think of it like 3 years of free gas! Please note that this is only for the Canadian market.

Q: Do you plan on winter driving the car?

A: Been there, done that. And yes.

Q: Is there anything about the Taycan you don’t like?

A: 1) Range anxiety (mostly during winter). 2) For as quick as it can currently charge at fast charging stations, it still requires patience and planning pertaining to when, where and how often you need to plug in. Truly fast charging stations are still very few and far between in Canada. 3) The somewhat laggy PCM interface (i.e. it still takes about 1 minute before I can get Apple Music to work, every time I start up the car).

Q: Do you plan on keeping the Taycan for the long-term?

A: At this very moment, it’s hard to say. But it very much comes down to lifestyle choices, and I’m in a growing mood to do some downsizing/consolidation of my current automobile ownership situation. Namely, I’m looking at the possibility of selling the Taycan and my SUV (Toyota Sequoia) and just getting a Cayenne in their stead. Then using that Cayenne as a daily driver, and very importantly, for towing the race car to track events. That’ll be at least a couple of years down the road, so there’s plenty of time to change my mind.

Thanks to all of those who participated, and for tuning in to T’s Corner!

July 6, 2021 / Comments Off

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Taycan by TECHART

If a factory standard Porsche Taycan with options just isn’t special or impressive enough for you as a customer, fear not, get in touch with TECHART and you will end up with a completely bespoke, one-of-a-kind bespoke TECHART Taycan, and I have to admit … she looks great, both on the outside and on the inside.

To create the new aerodynamic kit for the Porsche Taycan, TECHART combined the old with the new, the styling package was designed in virtual reality, but they still made an artisan clay model, finalizing details in state-of-the-art 3D modeling before taking the design into the wind tunnel and real-life track proving ground.

TECHART calls it their ‘Premium Individualization’ program, and while they offer their new front bumper, side sills, and rear diffuser, which alter the styling of this all-electric Porsche only mildly, their press release states the customer can specify bespoke options for the new TECHART Formula VI forged aluminum wheels.

The TECHART Formula VI wheels come in 10.0 x 22-inch (front) and 11.5 x 22-inch (rear) and boast slender spokes with low weight, they are available in a two-tone grey with polished spokes, black with polished spokes, but also any custom color the customer specifies, and in case you are wondering, there is also a TECHART Formula VI Race version … with a central locking system, but that’s not available for the Porsche Taycan.

While the aero package from TECHART has a very subtle look on the Porsche Taycan, their interior modifications lift this car into a totally different segment, the factory standard cockpit looks beautiful as is, but a TECHART interior takes it into a class of its own with special leather and Alcantara, custom stitching, special piping, and the most impressive embroidery and embossing seen on a Taycan.

This truly is a Tailor-made interior, TECHART manufactory and saddlery offers the owners of the all-electric sportscar a wide-ranging and handcrafted individualization program, with high-grade leather interior or a combination of sporty Alcantara and leather, the demo car they created comes with a stunning combination of perforated leather and Alcantara combined with contrasting piping.

But there is a fascinating ‘shimmer’ effect visible on these seats, TECHART will fit a contrast color underneath the perforated honeycomb pattern that will show through in a very impressive manner, the iconic TECHART logotype is not only embroidered on the seats in matching colors but even more impressively it’s also embossed on the door trim, in the headrest, and on the floor mats … which looks magnificent.

This demo car comes with a honeycomb perforation on an all-black upholstery, but TECHART offers an endless variety of customized perforation structures of the leather which can be specified in a plethora of different colors too, while the signature feature for the TECHART interior in the Porsche Taycan is a bespoke steering wheel.

The TECHART sports steering wheel comes with a top-center ring, the driving mode switch at the lower-right, and the fitting screws in a contrasting color, and you can still custom order any combination of painted spokes, leather on the rim combined with Alcantara. But again the option of carbon fiber is also possible, as is matching pipings and stitching on the steering wheel. To make it really stand out you can even get the perforation pattern from the seats applied to the steering wheel too, all while retaining the factory standard features such as multifunction, paddle shifts, and steering wheel heating.

March 17, 2021 / Comments Off

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Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo shakedown

The new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo has just been introduced last week, but we all know there was a long path before this new model from Porsche was ready to face the world, development, simulation, prototyping, and usually several hundreds of thousands of test miles, usually in a camouflaged test mule.

But Porsche wanted to do things differently with the Taycan Cross Turismo, so they decided to hand over the keys of one of their priceless prototypes to selected journalists from various countries, this car would be taken to an intercontinental test drive over five countries during which the car would go into five different climate zones … the ultimate real-world test run.

The intention was to take this new Porsche model straight into its five most important markets, combining extreme heat and cold with various surfaces, the Taycan Cross Turismo is intended to be capable off-road too, so why not have journalists actually drive a pre-production prototype on the street, in the snow, and in the desert … because that’s what the final customer will be doing too … right?

First up was a stint in the deserts of the United States, after that the Porsche would be sent to Norway, during the winter while everything is frozen up there. The third country was the United Kingdom, where the Taycan Cross Turismo was taken onto mud and gravel that poses its own kind of challenges for a car like this. They even took the car into Amsterdam in the Netherlands, to test how this electric Porsche would handle narrow, old cobble-stone streets in real life.

And it wouldn’t be a Porsche if she didn’t perform well on the German Autobahn, where there are still stretches to be found that have no speed limit, they are getting rare in Germany too, but if you look for them, there are still really nice parts of the German highway system where you can really put your foot to the metal and go all-out … at your own risk naturally.

As the Cross Turismo is a development of the already proven Porsche Taycan sedan, the test went without any major issues, this was a late prototype, which made things a little less worrying for Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson Taycan & E-Mobility, they had so much confidence in their new car after it traveled five countries and apparently didn’t even get a carwash, it was this very prototype that was driven onto the stage for the live international launch event.

“To us, it made perfect sense because you always have these super shiny cars on stage at world premieres,” Wienkötter explains, “so to have a dirty and partially camouflaged car is much more eye-catching. It’s been on different continents, in different climate zones, and on different surfaces, and has collected different types of dirt and grime – all of which we wanted to preserve to tell the story of the car.”

March 6, 2021 / Comments Off

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Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo on the road

The head of the Taycan model line, Stefan Weckbach, took on very mildly camouflaged Porsche onto the open roads around Waissach for some real-world testing … boasting a long roofline combined with an increased ride height. And while the front looks like the Porsche Taycan, the rest looks more like the Mission E Cross Turismo concept from 2018.

This is the brand new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, a car for those people that love the Taycan, but need some more space and versatility … this Cross Turismo feels at home on the city streets, but also out in the country on sand roads, and while this model comes with increased ground clearance, it’s not a replacement for a Cayenne … the Cross Turismo is intended to be able to cross gravel roads and some mild off-roading, it even comes with bespoke CUV (Cross Utility Vehicle) driving modes.

Compared to the Porsche Taycan you’ll immediately notice the extended roofline, making it look like a sporty estate, but they also added roof rails for practicality, the rear seats are more spacious and the luggage area has been enlarged to create the Cross Turismo, this is the first all-electric cross utility vehicle from Porsche.

Until now the Taycan Cross Turismo was a closely kept secret beyond the walls of Weissach and the Taycan production line in Zuffenhausen, but the appeal of Porsche’s first all-electric sports saloon will only grow now, taking the Taycan (of which 20,000 units were sold during the first year of production) onto a different market segment, customers who want to take this all-electric Cross Turismo off the streets, onto the open fields.

February 19, 2021 / Comments Off

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New Porsche Taycan version comes with an MSRP of only $79,900 !

It seems Porsche is going into a different market segment with their all-electric Taycan model, we already know the Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo, and Taycan Turbo S. But those are priced between $103,800 and $185,000 … now Porsche is releasing a more entry-level version, simply called Taycan, and it will be listed at dealers for $79,900.

This new Porsche Taycan variant will come with rear-wheel drive only, and it was previously only sold in China, but it seems Porsche thinks there is also a market for a lower-priced Taycan on other markets too. Making this Taycan RWD only means Porsche removed the front-drive unit, and while you might think having no all-wheel-drive anymore is a bad thing … think about the 90 kg (200 pounds) weight saving this brings.

As with the Taycan 4s, this new version can be ordered with either the 79.2 kWh Performance battery, or the 93.4 kWh Plus battery, unfortunately, the latter is also 77 kg (170 pounds) heavier, so you’ll have to decide which is more important to you. With the Performance battery, the Taycan comes with 402 hp (300 kW) and a 344 Nm torque … on the other hand, the Plus battery rises those numbers to 469 hp (350 kW) and 357 nM.

Acceleration figures stay the same no matter which battery option you go for, 0 to 60 mph takes 5.1 seconds while the top speed of this Taycan is 230 km/h (or 143 mph) … strangely enough only the EURO spec Taycan gets a range rating from Porsche, 431 km (268 miles) with the Performance battery, or 484 km (301 miles) with the Plus battery … why Porsche didn’t give range figures for the US model to be available in the spring of 2021 is unclear.

January 20, 2021 / Comments Off

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2019 Porsche Taycan Nearing Production Phase

Porsche Taycan In Final Testing Phase Before September Reveal

The Porsche Taycan has rather quietly, become on of the most anticipated cars to come out of Stuttgart in a long time. The fully-electric car has the potential to be precedence-setting, both within the company itself as well as the broader automotive spectrum. When it was first unveiled as the Porsche Mission E back in 2015, little details were given, and its silhouette has evolved drastically since officially becoming known as the Taycan in 2018.

Taking place over multiple countries and continents, the Taycan’s world tour has hardly been a vacation for the car or Porsche engineers. The Taycan has undergone rigorous testing in the highest extremes of our planet’s environment, being put through a gauntlet of trials in temperatures ranging from -35 to +50 degrees Celsius.

Thorough considerations are being given to all of the Taycan’s metrics, from its driving dynamics to the performance of its batteries. Once the final testing phase is completed, Porsche states that the Taycan will have gone through well over 100,000 charging cycles using the full range of compatible charging options.

In spite of such grueling conditions, Porsche is buoyed by its findings. In an official press release, Stefan Weckbach (Head of BEV at Porsche) noted that several millions of real-world miles have been recorded as part of these tests.

“After carrying out computer simulations and comprehensive bench tests early on, we have now reached the final phase of this demanding testing programme. Before the Taycan is launched on the market at the end of the year, we will have covered approximately six million kilometers across the globe. We are already very happy with the current status of the vehicles. The Taycan is going to be a true Porsche.” he elaborated.

In a future that most automotive manufactures anticipate will be dominated by EVs, the Taycan is Porsche’s first real statement for that cause. Though this is a very forward thinking approach, Porsche fans can be appeased by the company’s commitment to maintain its core values and respect for heritage. Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Porsche executive board proclaims “Even with solely battery-powered sports cars, Porsche is remaining true to its philosophy and offering our customers the sportiest and technologically most sophisticated model in this market segment.”

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2019 Porsche Taycan Image Gallery

April 1, 2019 / Comments Off

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Porsche Taycan Specs Revealed

With Porsche steeping up their focus on electric technology, they finally released details regarding the new electric supercar, the Taycan, and they’re impressive.

It’s a dual-motor setup between the axles, together producing more than 600 horsepower or 440kW(!),

“We opted for a permanently excited synchronous motor(PSM) in the Taycan; They combine a high energy density with strong sustained performance and maximum efficiency.” – Heiko Mayer, Porsche drive unit project leader

The 800-volt setup produces a 500km range on a single charge, with a 0-60 time of fewer than 3.5 seconds. There are 100 prototypes available and the synchronous motors have been tested in their LeMans-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid.

The most intriguing part is the packaging of the batteries itself. Right now, that’s the hindering part of an electric car due to the weight and the amount required to power a car.

They placed it near the floor so that it has a low center of gravity with a balance of keeping weight low, optimal temperatures met, and safety in mind. Each cell has 4 volts and 400 cell pack to power the four wheels. It can fast-charge 400 km range in about 15 minutes (impressive!).

They’ll be using the Taycan as proving grounds for battery technology and monitoring the performance and if any degradation happens.

If you’re worried about charging, Porsche is working with other car manufacturers to have standardized fast-charging stations in Europe, having a station reachable within 100-150 km. The future is here and the Taycan will spearhead the way to a greener future!

July 31, 2018 / Comments Off

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