Take a seat in the Porsche Taycan’s high-tech, sustainable interior
Take your seat, press the start button, scan the digital displays across the all-new but oddly familiar dashboard, gently squeeze the accelerator and off you go in the first all-electric car from Porsche. The Taycan is on its way, and Porsche is charging at full speed towards its September 4th launch.
You might think you have seen the car already, so high profile has a lightly camouflaged model been on its pre-launch world tour, including of course getting a run up the Hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard. But there are still surprises in store for September 4th – if not what the interior will look like. We now know how that looks from the latest official shots released this week.
And at first glance it’s a very Porsche interior, with a 911-inspired flat-faced panel fronting a full-width dashboard that includes a nod to the traditional five-dial nacelle behind the steering wheel. There’s no tachometer occupying pride of place here though. There’s no tacho anywhere of course.
Look closer and you see the “dials” are part of a 16.8-inch freestanding display. It’s curved and rounded, and stands proud of the top of the dash just like the 911’s entirely driver-focused instrument cluster has since the first 911 in 1963. It’s all about reinterpreting classic design features for the digital age, as Porsche puts it.
This driver display, behind anti-reflective polarising glass, is configurable so you can choose what information you see, from a full map to just essential driving info. Plus there’s a classic mode that mimics the five-dial array of early 911s. One thing you still can’t have though is that tacho in the middle position; that spot goes to a power meter showing the state of the battery. On either side of the screen are touch sensitive switches for lights and chassis modes. Like a regular Porsche’s ignition lock, the power button is behind the steering wheel.
You want more display screens? You got ‘em. There’s a home screen that shows all your apps, and a central 10.9-inch infotainment display for setting up the vehicle configuration such as active suspension management. There’s even an optional touch-screen for the passenger so they can alter infotainment and climate settings. Using it all promises to be easy, too, with a “Hey Porsche” voice command accessing many of the functions plus handwriting recognition for inputting navigation info.
What else can we expect inside? A tasty steering new wheel, low seating position, a drive selector switch like that in the 918 Spyder, air vents that can be operated “intuitively”, whatever that means, and a four-zone climate control system with another control panel for back seat passengers.
Interior luxury is focused very much on recyclability. There is no leather here (although it is optional), instead you get RaceTex microfibre material. Door and console trims can be in wood, matt carbon, fabric or embossed aluminium. And on the floor? That would be a material made from recycled fishing nets…
What else do you need to know? Here’s a quick guide.
Bluffer’s guide to the Taycan ahead of September 4th unveiling…
Four-door, coupe-styled saloon based on Mission E concept first shown at the Frankfurt Show in 2015
Taycan means a high-spirited young horse in Turkish
Power is 600PS (590bhp)
Electric motors on front and rear axles for all-wheel-drive
0-62mph in under 3.5 seconds; Porsche says that in 26 successive 0-124mph full-bore starts acceleration time varied by just 0.8 of a second
Top speed of over 155mph
800 volt electrical system rather than the more normal 400 volts, for what Porsche says is high power and fast charging
90kWh lithium-ion batteries
Priced around that of the Panamera but final cost to be confirmed
30,000 reservations so far
Unveiled September 4th and on sale before the end of 2019
Porsche
Taycan
FOS
FOS 2019
2019
