Porsche Taycan gets improved range
Remember those eye-popping colours of Porsche 911s of the 1990s? Rubystar was one such, and now it’s back – on the Taycan. It’s one of a number of updates to the all-electric sedan as its success in the Porsche range grows, annual sales now challenging those of the 911.
Don’t worry, if the retina-challenging Rubystar is not your thing you don’t have to have it. You could have other ‘90s classics like Acid Green, Moonlight Blue or Viola Metallic instead. They are among 65 additional colours now available for the Taycan as part of a new paint-to-sample option, in addition to the 17 standard paint colours. Pay more and you can have your Taycan colour-matched to... well, pretty much anything you want.
What else has changed for the Taycan, and its Taycan Cross Turismo sister? There are tweaks to the infotainment system to incorporate Android Auto and the car can now parallel or reverse park itself without you in it, controlled by an app on your smartphone. Somewhat surprisingly, it’s the first time the Taycan has been able to do that.
But the biggest enhancement – aside from the Rubystar, obviously – is a promised boost in range. Depending on model, a Taycan can officially make its batteries last between 220 and 300 miles. While these official figures aren’t changing, Porsche says that in real-world driving the car is much more likely to meet them.
There are changes to the Taycan’s electric drive system to allow the improvement. The motors now decouple to allow freewheeling when coasting, and the front motor likewise is decoupled when you select either the normal or “range” drive mode. Plant the right foot and the motors awake within milliseconds.
Reducing frictional losses by decoupling the motors allows a greater real-world range in day to day use, says Porsche, though it declines to put a figure on the improvement. The latest Taycans also feature changes to allow faster charging.
Twenty thousand Taycans have been delivered in the first half of 2021, the same as the number of 911s sold. Here’s hoping the next 20,000 will include a good smattering of Rubystar examples…
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Electric Avenue
