The concept version of the Taycan named the Porsche Mission E, debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

[5] As Porsche's first series production electric car,[6] it is sold in several variants at different performance levels, and may spawn further derivatives in future models.

[7] It is built on the J1 electric car platform shared with the similarly shaped Audi e-tron GT.

The name "Taycan" (/taɪ-kan/[8][9][N 1]) is a reference to the steed on the coat of Arms of the city of Stuttgart, found on the Porsche crest.

At the front, power is sent to the wheels through a single-speed gearbox (8.05:1 gear ratio); and at the rear, through a two-speed transmission and a limited slip differential.

[4] Power comes from a 93 kWh 630 kg (1,389 lb) lithium-ion battery pack that doubles as a structural chassis component and keeps the center of gravity low.

[4] To increase rear-seat legroom, recesses called "foot garages" have been incorporated into the battery pack.

[18] A base model, which dropped the front motor and was fitted with the smaller 79.2 kW-hr PB, was introduced in early 2021.

[19][20] When the Cross Turismo body was introduced in March 2021, the base model was designated 4, which used the larger battery and two-motor all-wheel drive, but with outputs comparable to the rear-motor Taycan.

[21] As an option, the regular Taycan was fitted with the larger 93 kW-hr PB+ in late 2021 and a single-motor variant of the 4 Cross Turismo powertrain.

In addition, the rear traction motor from the Macan BEV was fitted, which is more powerful, more efficient, and weighs less than the prior unit.

According to manufacturer estimates, the battery pack can be charged from 5% to 80% in 22.5 minutes in ideal situations, using an 800-volt DC fast charger with 270 kW (367 PS; 362 hp) of power.

When purchasing a Taycan, owners receive three years free access to the speed-charging infrastructure of IONITY in Europe or Electrify America in the United States, Porsche's joint venture partners.

[46] The Taycan Turbo has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.22, which the manufacturer claims is the lowest of any current Porsche model.

Porsche's results during the test did not deteriorate significantly, while the Tesla's were observed to be considerably worse.

Other planned variants include a two-door coupe and convertible models, which will enter production based on market demand.

More than 20,000 Taycans were delivered in 2020, its debut sale year, representing 7.4% of the total Porsche volume.

[67] In December 2022, Bloomberg named the Taycan as a great other option to the Model X from Tesla for those frustrated by Elon Musk.

[74] The concept car which previewed the Taycan was the Porsche Mission E, unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.

It is powered by two PSM permanently excited synchronous electric motors, one on each axle, with all four wheels individually controlled by the Porsche Torque Vectoring system.

Porsche Chief designer Michael Mauer said the concept "shows possibilities of the future lineup.