Porsche gives the Taycan a facelift and puts the lever exactly where it is the worst, in terms of range. The Zuffenhausen-based Stromer has become smarter and also went into the paint pot.
In China, the hearts of some ladies will beat faster now. After the facelift, the Porsche Taycan is also available in star ruby. With this paintwork, Porsche refers to the coveted classic 911 from the 964 model series, which was available in precisely this color. With the paintwork of the Taycan, Porsche is removing the lid from some paint pots with model year 2022, leaving almost free space for the buyers’ creative will. When configuring the Stromer, you can click through the color palette and order the car in “acid green”, for example. A total of 63 additional paint shades are available, “including many cult colors,” as Porsche emphasizes.
In view of this blaze of color, one inevitably feels reminded of the candy advertising slogan “many brightly colored smarties”. This also applies to the Porsche Taycan, which has become smarter in the course of the model upgrade and can travel up to 25 kilometers on one battery charge. This means that the Zuffenhausen-based Stromer is not yet a long-term runner in terms of range, but the electric squirrel also has a laborious diet. The additional kilometers come about by optimizing the pulse inverter or the power electronics of the motor.
The lever used by the Porsche engineers is to control the semiconductors. With the improved Taycan, the drive is disconnected within 100 microseconds and put back into operation just as quickly. When driving in the partial load range, the front axle completely says goodbye to propulsion and when sailing or at a standstill, the rear axle joins it. The possibility of perfecting the drive train in this way comes about through improved software algorithms. “We have learned a lot and are now optimizing the drive train accordingly,” explains drive expert Klaus Rechberger.
But that’s not all. “We have improved the robustness of fast charging,” says Klaus Rechberger. To do this, the battery must be brought into its comfort zone as quickly as possible, which is more than 35 degrees when fast charging. In order to condition the battery accordingly, it is preheated by the vehicle and, as soon as you dock with the charging station, has the optimal temperature and starts immediately with the maximum charging speed. In order to create the Celsius oasis of well-being, the existing heat loss produced by the drives and the various components is used. “You have to treat the battery like the apple of your eye,” explains Klaus Rechberger.
Not only does the loading speed increase, but also the area in which it is held. If you consider a typical charging curve for an electric car, the plateau with the highest charging speed is now longer. However, this does not mean that it takes five to 80 percent SoC (state of charge / battery charge) to recharge the battery on an 800 volt faster than the previously mentioned 22.5 minutes, but that this value can also be achieved under less than ideal conditions. “This time is no longer reached in the so-called best point, but can actually be experienced robustly for the customer. That is the essential point,” says Klaus Rechberger. If you consider that the Taycan is still more or less a youngster, further improvements are likely to follow. “Every watt counts, especially with electric drives,” says the technician.
So the tinkering goes on. Another highlight of the revised Taycan has nothing to do with charging or the electric motors, but makes it easier for the driver to park in and out of parallel and perpendicular parking spaces. This is done via auto-pilot with the smartphone, without the driver having to sit behind the steering wheel. Speaking of smartphones: Owners of a mobile phone with Android Auto can now integrate it into the infotainment of the Porsche Taycan.
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
