Seeking to Boost the Taycan's Competitiveness, Porsche Promises 62 Miles in Four Minutes - for Free
Well, “free” under certain circumstances. We’re referring to the cost of recharging Porsche’s upcoming electric super sedan, and we’re certainly not referring to the time it takes to reach triple-digit speeds.
As it prepares to launch a vehicle that truly deserves the overused title of “Tesla fighter,” Porsche has a perk it wants would-be owners to know about: industry-beating charging speed, at no cost to the operator.
As detailed by Bloomberg, Taycan (pronounced “tie-kahn”) owners can expect to juice up their Taycans for free once the sedan arrives late this year. This perk is made possible by Volkswagen’s Electrify America recharging network — a network born of the company’s diesel scandal and resulting green penance.
By the beginning of July, Electrify America plans to have 300 stations either in operation and under construction, each housing two 350 kw fast-charge plugs. The Taycan’s 800-volt electrical system can gulp current at a prodigious rate, meaning drivers can add 62 miles (100 km) to their battery in four minutes at such a hookup. That’s about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette or peruse Twitter for ideology-reinforcing memes.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume made this promise late last year, opening up a new front in the brand’s battle with Tesla. The California company’s Supercharger stations offer 120 kW hookups, good for a 50 percent charge in about 20 minutes. Fast, but still poky compared to a 350 kw charge. As Taycans are expected to offer 310 miles of driving range, a full fill-up at one of Electrify America’s stations wouldn’t eat up too much of your afternoon — assuming no one’s hogging the plugs.
New Tesla buyers, in most cases, can also expect to pay for their slower charge, as the automaker got rid of free, unlimited charging back in September. This means a second perk for Taycan buyers.
“Getting into a car and doing 0-to-60 mph in less than three seconds—can you really differentiate yourself if you do it in 2.8 seconds, and the other can do it in 2.7?,” Klaus Zellmer, the head of Porsche Cars North America, told Bloomberg. “There are other factors that will gain importance, such as charging time.”
As the release date draws closer, Porsche claims substantial interest exists for its upcoming 600 hp EV. There’s also no shortage of speculation on what the future might hold for the model, which starts in the low $90k range. As Alex Roy revealed last year, Porsche plans to use the familiar (if inaccurate) “Turbo” name for top-tier performance Taycans and “4s” for all-wheel drive models. This has some wondering if a GT3 model might one day become a reality (who knew the folks at TaycanEVForum.com were so hot on the, um, Taycan?).
It’s worth noting that Electrify America stations won’t be the only place to juice up the Taycan in short order. Porsche dealers will also host 350 kW fast-charge plugs, with some 120 locations expected by the time of the model’s roll-out.
[Image: Porsche AG]
More by Steph Willems
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I think that high speed charging will go a long way towards acceptance, but I do see some potential problems. First, I wonder about waiting in line for a port as the number of EVs expands. Obviously this can happen with gas too, especially in urban areas, but the filling times are lower so the car queue would move faster. The second thing I wonder about is how easy is it to push an EV that's completely dead compared to an ICE car in neutral.
Can someone explain the CCS charging standard that VW installed? There are four different plugs and most of them won't mate with any other type of socket, even within the same standard. Was VW just trying to upset the applecart? Did they really think it was a better charger than CHAdeMO?