The Taycan is Porsche’s first purely electrically driven sports car. But before the series production starts the final test drives need to happen. Taking a car from a simulation to being road-ready is a long but satisfying journey that Porsche take very seriously.

In Scandinavia, just a few kilometres away from the Arctic Circle, it is proving its potential in terms of driving dynamics on snow and ice. At the same time, Porsche engineers are taking advantage of the summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

In South Africa, performance tests are underway, as well as final adjustments in terms of continuous performance and reproducibility.

In the hot climate of Dubai endurance runs and testing battery charging under extreme conditions are happening.

The 30 countries across the globe in which these comprehensive tests are being carried out have temperatures that range from minus 35 to plus 50 degree Celsius, air humidity range from 20 to 100 percent and altitude ranges from 85 metres below to 3,000 metres above sea level.

Approximately six million collective kilometres, of which two million were endurance run kilometres were covered by the cars being tested. And most importantly the over 100,000 battery charging cycles took place using various technologies to make sure that everything will run smoothly.

It is a huge undertaking that required a team of around 1,000 test drivers, technicians and engineers

“After carrying out computer simulations and comprehensive bench tests early on, we have now reached the final phase of this demanding testing programme,” underlines the vice president of the model line, Stefan Weckbach: “Before the Taycan is launched on the market at the end of the year, we will have covered approximately six million kilometres across the globe. We are already very happy with the current status of the vehicles. The Taycan is going to be a true Porsche.”

All cars at Porsche undergo the same rigorous testing programme regardless of whether their engine is a combustion or electrical one. In addition to displaying superior performance, this always includes proving unrestricted suitability for everyday use in all climate conditions.

Particularly demanding features such as charging the battery or temperature control of the drive train and the interior under extreme conditions are additional aspects in the battery-powered models.

Test experts were able to build upon the comprehensive findings from the digital testing stage using digital prototypes. At present, computers are used to design the body, drive, chassis, electronics and overall vehicle of a new model and to simulate their functions – which includes how they work together. In total, the virtual prototypes of the Taycan have completed more than ten million digital kilometres.

This meant that development engineers started driving a Taycan around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a driving simulator at an early stage, so that they could test and evaluate its circuit performance. During this process, they focused on the electrical energy management, which plays an important role in achieving a sub-eight-minute lap time on the 20.6-kilometre (timed distance) Nordschleife.

The Porsche Taycan will be introduced in September and will be launched by the end of the year. Across the globe, there are already more than 20,000 serious prospective buyers. The potential customers have put their names down on an option program list and made a down payment.

The Taycan accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in significantly less than 3.5 seconds. It has a range of more than 500 kilometres (according to the NEDC). The 800-V archi- tecture in the vehicle guarantees that the lithium-ion battery can be recharged in just four minutes, providing enough energy to drive 100 kilometres (according to NEDC).

For more information, visit Porsche Centre Kuwait- Behbehani Motors Company, please call 1870 870 or visit www.porschekuwait.com.

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