Is the Porsche Taycan the world’s most innovative car?

Automakers love to make big statements about the ingenuity of their machinery. However, when an independent body of scientists from a research centre dedicated to studying automotive technology also say that a car is ingenious, you kind of have to take note.

A study from a group of scientists and engineers from the Centre of Automotive Management (CAM), claims that the Porsche Taycan is “the most important innovation driver in the global automotive market”. That is quite some backing considering the report was published by the scientific institute for empirical automotive and mobility research from Germany’s University of Applied Sciences.

Driven by its eternal quest to build the perfect sports car, Porsche already has a well-earned reputation for technological innovation. However in the development of the Taycan – its pioneering fully electric sports car – the iconic carmaker created 27 technological innovations, 13 of which are world firsts.

Such is its achievement that the ‘AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Report’ even went as far as labelling the Porsche Taycan as the world’s most technologically advanced passenger vehicle, beating out 250 production vehicles in the evaluation process.

From the outset, Porsche set out to challenge the notion of performance compromise when it comes to electric cars. The first models to be made available in the series are the Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S, which are among the most powerful production models in the Porsche range.

The Taycan is the first production vehicle with a system voltage of 800 volts instead of the usual 400 volts for electric cars. It enables the battery in the Taycan to be recharged for a range of up to 100 kilometres in just over five minutes. The charging time from five to 80 percent is 22.5 minutes under ideal conditions.

Sci-fi worthy styling aside, it’s when you look beneath the surface of the Porsche Taycan that it really starts to impress. Extensive thought has been given to every single element of this sports EV, right down to its shape. With a drag coefficient of just 0.22, the aerodynamically optimised exterior lines make a significant contribution to low energy consumption, thus improving its range.

Even the headlights play their part, with the unique ‘air curtains’ which give them their futuristic look actually guiding air over the front wheel housings, reducing air turbulence and resistance.

Beneath them, the low side air intakes are not simply a static feature. They form part of the Taycan’s Porsche Active Aerodynamics system. With fully variable, individually controllable cooling air flaps, they supply the two radiators as well as the flow onto the brakes via a brake air duct.

A powerful computer, the chassis control unit, commands an incredibly sophisticated collection of systems which enable the Porsche Taycan’s exceptional levels of performance. This includes existing technologies such as Porsche Active Suspension Management, Porsche Active Aerodynamics and Porsche Torque Vectoring seen on previous models such as the 911, Cayenne and Panamera, which are combined with ground-breaking new systems created especially for Porsche’s very first EV.

In internal combustion engine vehicles, the kinetic energy present at the brakes is converted into heat during deceleration. With electric vehicles, it is possible to recover a large portion of this kinetic energy to recharge the battery using the electric motors as generators during braking. Through this system, thanks to the Taycan’s high recuperation output of up to 265 kW, approximately 90 percent of braking operations in everyday use are performed by the electric motors alone, without activating the wheel brakes. As a result, Porsche is recommending that the brake pads only need to be replaced every six years.

We have only scratched the surface – it would take many more words to explore all of the technologies featured in this revolutionary machine. For now, we’ll just say that, for a glimpse into the future of electromobility, you need only look at the Porsche Taycan.

Explore the Porsche Taycan in full right here.