Porsche’s first mass-production all-electric car is taking direct aim at the Tesla Model S when it comes to performance. But what about range? Thanks to newly published documents from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we have a better idea what the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S could manage on a single charge.
According to those documents, both cars should manage between 281.8 and 282.7 miles. That’s roughly equivalent to the 279-mile range the Taycan managed under the new globally harmonized WLTP cycle. Here in the U.S., we lean on the EPA to publish its own ratings through sites like Fueleconomy.gov, which has yet to list any official numbers for the Taycan. Typically the EPA ratings are lower than on the WLTP cycle, as is the case with the Audi e-tron. While it’s rated at 255 miles overseas, American-market e-trons are rated at just 204 miles, due to different test cycles.
Even so, the 280-ish mile range falls short of the Tesla Model S, which even in Performace guise is rated at 345 miles on a charge. A recent Tesla software update did up that slightly, with Tesla’s site saying the Model S can manage 348 miles. That said, the 93.4-kWh battery in the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S still manages a respectable range for a high-performance model. According to Porsche, the Taycan Turbo S should also manage a 2.6 second 0-60 time thanks to its 750 horsepower and 774 lb-ft of torque when using launch control.
Taycan 4S figures to come
While the 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S both appear to manage around 280 miles of range, they’re also expensive ventures into EV ownership. For most, the lower barrier to entry provided by the entry-level Taycan 4S will be where most customers buy into the all-electric Porsche. Compared to price tags well north of $150,000, the less expensive version is set to start at $103,800 for the base model. However, for $110,380 you can get the Performance Battery Plus version, with the same capacity as the Taycan Turbo.
Once we see ratings for that model, I suspect that will offer the best range of the bunch. With the same capacity but less power, you may be able to eke out more than 300 miles on a charge, which would put it in more competitive territory against the Tesla and other performance EVs to come.
Stay tuned to TFLcar.com for more updates on the Porsche Taycan. For now, check out our first drive review below with our friend Alex Dykes from Alex on Autos:
