Porsche Taycan to start under $200K

The Porsche Taycan is on sale now and will arrive Down Under in December, priced from $190,400 plus on-road costs.

That’s the recommended retail price for the Porsche Taycan 4S, the lowest of three performance grades that Porsche Cars Australia will offer for its ground-breaking all-electric super-sedan.

The mid-range Porsche Taycan Turbo is priced from $268,500 and the 560kW (761hp!) Porsche Taycan Turbo S will start in Australia from $338,500 (both plus ORCs).

By way of comparison, the Tesla Model S is priced between $140,000 and $165,000 in Australia.

But there’s more to the price difference than merely a storied European badge – for that we can vouch.

When we drove the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S at their global launch in Germany late last year, we were wowed not only by their performance, but their ability to deliver that performance time and time again.

The Taycan’s sub-$200K starting price – more than $45,000 less than the 911’s ($241,300) – may surprise some, yet Porsche will offer a relatively high level of equipment in the base Taycan 4S and all Australian Taycan variants.

Standard equipment on all grades includes Surround View monitor, keyless access and start, Lane Change Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, front seat heating and ventilation, steering wheel heating, rear side airbags, electrically folding exterior mirrors, digital radio and privacy glazing.

Additional local standard equipment for the Porsche Taycan 4S includes 20-inch Taycan Sport Aero wheels, metallic paint, 14-way electric comfort seats and a BOSE Surround Sound system.

The Porsche Taycan is the first production vehicle to feature an 800V system voltage, which Porsche claims delivers significant performance, packaging and recharging benefits.

When fitted with Performance Battery Plus, the Taycan’s maximum peak charging capacity of 270kW is also at the top of the EV tree. We published a full technical overview of the Taycan’s EV powertrain from Porsche’s first Taycan workshop last year.

All three Aussie Taycan models come with a Porsche Charging Dock, a Mobile Charger Connect module, a charging cable for domestic sockets, two charging cables for industrial sockets and Porsche’s Home Energy Manager to “assist with the set-up of efficient charging infrastructure at home”.

In Australia, all Porsche Taycan models are also equipped with a 150kW onboard DC charger for use at 400V.

Double-sided charge points are standard. The cool electric pop-out covers will, however, only be standard on the Turbo S.

The Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S also add substantive features like Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) Sport, four-zone Advanced Climate Control and ambient lighting.

Four-wheel steering is standard only on the Taycan Turbo S and torque vectoring, which is a key factor in the all-electric Porsche’s amazing dynamics, is optional on the base-grade Taycan 4S.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo S gets a Sports Chrono package and Porsche’s sound synthesising system is standard also. Both these options will cost you extra on the Taycan Turbo and Taycan 4S.

At this stage, Porsche Australia is still to publish an options price list.

The $190K Porsche Taycan 4S has a claimed output of 390kW and 640Nm. It features Porsche’s innovative two-speed transmission, all-wheel drive and a 79.2kWh ‘Performance’ battery. Porsche claims a 365km range.

Purchasers can order an upgrade to the Performance Battery Plus package (price still to be published). This delivers an increase in battery capacity to 93.4kWh as well as “a notable performance increase” to 420kW and 650Nm. Porsche says range is boosted to 414km.

The standard Taycan 4S will accelerate to 100km/h in four seconds and has a top speed of 250km/h, according to Porsche’s claims.

The $268,500 Porsche Taycan Turbo introduces the overboost function to the all-wheel drive E-Performance Porsche electric powertrain and is rated at 500kW and 850Nm. It features the 93.4kWh Performance Battery Plus as standard.

Porsche claims the Taycan Turbo will accelerate to 100km/h in 3.2sec using launch control.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo’s range is 420km and its top speed is 260 km/h.

For $338,500, the flagship Porsche Taycan Turbo S delivers 560kW and 1050Nm in overboost and, in combination with launch control, can accelerate to 100km/h in a claimed 2.8sec.

But the performance potential of the Turbo S does bring down the claimed range marginally. Porsche states 405km – 15km less than the Turbo. Top speed is the same as its stablemate.

Porsche will partner with leading EV charging network provider Chargefox to provide remote charging infrastructure for Australian Taycan drivers.

Taycan owners will receive a complimentary three-year subscription to the Chargefox Ultra-Rapid DC fast-charging network (up to 350kW), and complimentary charging at selected Chargefox-managed DC charging sites (mostly 50kW).

For home charging, Porsche has partnered with JET Charge (a Chargefox affiliate) to deliver solutions. These are at the purchaser’s cost.

Porsche Cars Australia says it will also continue to expand its own destination charging network.

Designed to benefit both Taycan owners and drivers of Porsche’s plug-in hybrid models such as the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, the chargers will be rolled out at “premium lifestyle destinations such as luxury hotels, theatres and entertainment venues, restaurants, shopping precincts and cellar door locations”.

Porsche Cars Australia officially opened its Taycan order book this evening, when prospective customers can convert expressions of interest (EOI) to firm orders.

Porsche would not confirm the number of EOIs it had received Down Under – nor its local allocation – but expects order take-up to be rapid.

“There’s certainly been very strong interest,” Porsche Cars Australia spokesperson Chris Jordan told carsales.

“There’s a spectrum of buyers – some are very engaged EV enthusiasts; some are our existing Porsche customers – but I would say around 50 per cent of the EOIs are from people that are new to Porsche.

“And we haven’t been heavily in the market [advertising] with this car – they have been contacting Porsche centres off their own bat,” he said.

Jordan says Porsche Cars Australia will begin first local deliveries of all three Taycan model variants in December and believes the electric sports sedan will be into back-order territory very quickly.

“It’s a new powertrain technology for Porsche and it’s also not often we introduce a new nameplate and enter a new segment. Interest is extremely high,” he stated.

How much does the 2020 Porsche Taycan cost?
4S – $191,000
Turbo – $269,100
Turbo S – $339,100
* Prices exclude on-road costs