Porsche hosts international media drive of new Taycan

Nearly four years after first introducing it to the world, Porsche has given its pioneering fully-electric sports car, the Taycan, a thorough refresh. Teased since the start of the year, then finally unveiled in full in February, the first international media drives of the car are now underway in Sevilla, Spain.

It's worth noting that this isn't the first time Porsche's team has tinkered around with the Taycan; free software upgrades were offered to customers of selected cars first in 2021, and then in 2022 again to a wider group.

The new Taycan brings with it cosmetic updates for the first time, while boasting significant upgrades in range and performance 

Still, Porsche has called the upgrades given to this latest car - in effect, a fully fleshed-out facelift - "particularly extensive". Notably, the Taycan has undergone light cosmetic changes for the first time, while benefiting from significant leaps in power and range. In a media briefing, the brand revealed that more than half of its investment into development of the new car was targeted at improving the efficiency and performance.

Simultaneously, Porsche has bolstered the car's standard equipment list, and introduced new chassis and suspension technology to the lineup. Adaptive air suspension now counts itself as part of the standard equipment list. Meanwhile, Porsche's revolutionary Porsche Active Ride system - which allows for active force generation individually on each of the car's wheels - can be opted for by buyers. 

To return to the topic of range, variants across the entire Taycan lineup can now travel further than they did before. The longest-legged among them, as expected, is the single-motor Taycan Sedan with the larger Performance Battery Plus, which now has a rated range of 678km - 35% more than before.

All variants across the lineup can now travel further than they did before on a single charge, with the single-motor Taycan boasting a WLTP-rated range of 678km (Pictured: Taycan 4S Sedan)

Unsurprisingly, much of the credit is due to batteries with larger capacities across the board. The smaller Performance Battery now has a gross capacity of 93.4kWh - up from 79kWh previously - while the larger Performance Battery Plus has seen its capacity grow to 102kWh (coincidentally, up from 93.4kWh previously). The latter can also support faster charging at up to 320kW now (50kW more than before) across an expanded window of time.

Impressively, however, the larger battery capacities have not made the Taycan heavier. In fact, a new rear-axle electric motor has helped to shave weight from the car, while concurrently providing a bump in power. Other efficiency-targeted enhancements include optimisations to the car's aerodynamic efficiency and rolling resistance, and a higher ceiling for the car's maximum recuperation capacity during deceleration, which has risen from 290kW to 400kW.

Coming back to the car's performance, all variants of the Taycan are now quicker and more powerful than before. Specifically, the power bumps across the variants range from a 60kW (or 80bhp) increase for the Taycan with the Performance Battery Plus, to a whopping 140kW (or 188bhp) increase on the Taycan Turbo S. 

The Taycan Turbo S has had its peak power bumped to a whopping 939bhp (Pictured: Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo)

With launch control activated, the latter is now capable of a peak output of 939bhp, and can complete the century sprint in a scant 2.4 seconds - 0.4 seconds quicker than before.

Freshly introduced in the new Taycan as well, as part of the optional Sport Chrono Package, is a motorsports-derived Push-To-Pass function, which unlocks extra power for up to 10 seconds. 

But undeniably the star of the car's midlife refresh is the all-new Taycan Turbo GT, which now newly crowns the range as the performance flagship. Among its many groundbreaking accolades, the Turbo GT marks the first variant in the Taycan lineup to break the 1,000bhp barrier, towering well above even the mighty Turbo S. 

The all-new Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach Package can rocket to 100km/h from a standstill in a mere 2.2 seconds, before going on to hit a top speed of 305km/h

Thanks to vital tweaks to the rear axle motor, aerodynamic enhancements for added downforce, and weight savings, the Turbo GT can complete the century sprint in a scant 2.3 seconds, before going on to hit a top speed of 290km/h. The car also gets a modified gearbox to handle the extra amount of torque produced by its dual motors. Yet another highlight specific to it is an Attack Mode - effectively the Push-to-Pass on steroids - which not only provides more power, but can also be deployed more regularly. 

Still, that's not where it ends. For even more track-oriented performance, the Weissach package removes the rear seats (among other things) to shave an additional 70kg off. More extreme aerodynamic enhancements within the package include a fixed carbon fibre wing to the car's rear, allowing the Turbo GT to blast to 100km/h from rest in an even more manic 2.2s, before hitting a top speed of 305km/h. 

The new Taycan is estimated to arrive in Singapore towards the end of 2024, although official dates have yet to be confirmed. As with the pre-facelifted lineup, Sgcarmart also understands that the Sport Turismo body style has not been earmarked for our shores.

Stay tuned for our first impressions of the updated Taycan, coming soon!