Day Nineteen
After 19 days driving a circuitous route 6,440 km all the way from Oslo, the convoy of electric sportscars of Taycan Roadtrip Europe has finally reached Werk One of the Porsche factory in Stuttgart.
The last day has been truly characteristic of this extraordinary event, designed to let the qualities of this extraordinary car speak for themselves. As a result, the route has taken in city streets, through which the Taycan has glided effortlessly, and silently. Sections of it have included de-restricted autobahn, which have seen the Taycan make rapid progress over long distances, while others have been on exhilarating driving roads that have shown that the Taycan might have an electric powertrain but that it is a true Porsche in every way.
Even today’s weather has perfectly demonstrated the all-weather capabilities of the Taycan. On cold, wet, greasy roads through the forests, made even more treacherous by a carpet of fallen leaves, the all-wheel drive Taycan has shown that it can cover ground swiftly but securely thanks to its Porsche 4D Chassis Control, which analyses and synchronises the raft of state-of-the-art chassis systems in real time, including Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus) and Porsche Traction Management (PTM).
Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesman for Model Line Taycan and E-Mobility, and our man on the event for the last 19 days, has been there throughout. “It was a huge sense of achievement as we gathered all 18 cars together for the final photograph tonight, without a single scratch on any of them. It has been mind-blowing – the entire team has done an incredible job.”
Day Eighteen
Eighteen Taycan electric sports cars took part in the eighteenth day of Taycan Roadtrip Europe, as the convoy drove from Berlin back down to the Bavarian town of Hof.
Autumn has definitely now set in across Central Europe, and the coldest conditions of the whole expedition were recorded as the cars left the German capital. However, this posed no problems at all for the Taycan, which has benefitted from one of the most intensive testing programmes in automotive history.
From Arctic Finland to South Africa, prototype versions of the Taycan drove six million kilometres across thirty countries, in temperatures from minus 35 to plus 50 degrees Celsius. Extreme statistics like this pay off when the cars are put to work in everyday conditions, as has been comprehensively demonstrated over the last eighteen days.
Day Seventeen
It’s been a Bank Holiday in Germany today but, despite this, Taycan Roadtrip Europe has enjoyed the longest day of driving so far.
October 3rd is celebrated as German Unity Day, commemorating the re-unification of Germany in 1990. Therefore, it seems appropriate that the convoy of media – some from Germany but many from all over the world – drove 505 km, starting in the old West Germany, crossing into the old East Germany, and ending in Berlin.
Despite the Bank Holiday traffic, the Taycan electric sports cars have also been making the most of some of the best driving roads in the whole of Germany, as the route has passed through the Ore Mountains of Saxony, which run just north of the Czech border. They also passed the Porsche Werkzeugbau plant in Schwarzenberg, which has been one of the great centres of German tool-making for more than 100 years.
Charging, and lunch, was at the Ionity station in Klipphausen, before a 280 km, nearly five hour, run up the autobahn past the Lausitzring and then through the city streets of Berlin.
While summer has certainly enjoyed its final swansong through much of this trip, it hasn’t escaped notice that, in the final days of this great expedition across Europe, autumn has definitely arrived with some style today, with plenty of wind and rain along the way. It all feels very appropriate as, tomorrow morning, the final media guests will set off from Berlin on the last two day leg back to the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, spiritual home of Porsche and where the Taycan is built.
Day Sixteen
345 km have been covered today as the German media have driven the fleet of Taycan electric sports cars from Munich to Hof.
As Taycan Roadtrip Europe gets ever closer to reaching its finale in Stuttgart, it has been the turn of the German media to try both the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S on the autobahns and highways of Bavaria.
Starting in Munich, they headed northwards, passing between Ingolstadt and Regensburg. They put in a quick charge at the Ionity station in Berg bei Neumarkt, while lunch was served from the Airstream travel trailer. After that, the road took them past Nuremberg and up to Hof, which lies close to the border with the Czech Republic.
One German motoring journalist, in the profession for 30 years, was moved to say that the Porsche Taycan was the best car he had ever tested: ‘I’ve never driven anything with as broad a spread between comfort and dynamic appeal, that is so powerful and yet so smooth. I love the effortless way the Taycan drives and handles.”
Day Fifteen
It seems appropriate that, on the fifteenth day of Taycan Roadtrip Europe, when the last border crossing of this huge undertaking has finally been completed, the most international group of media yet has been taking part.
It seems a long time ago that Taycan Roadtrip Europe set off from Oslo, and it is certainly true to say that the vast majority of the distance has now been completed. Today’s journey, from Innsbruck to Munich, saw another 323 km ticked off, with media from all over the world at the helms of the 12 Taycan electric sports cars.
Today’s contingent saw many nations represented, from Iceland to Taiwan, from Ukraine to Japan, and both the Taycan, and the format of the event, drew plenty of praise. It was perhaps summed up best by one of the global PR staff, who had flown in especially to look after media from their region. “The focus is always on the car, as it should be, but it’s great to be experiencing it in such amazing settings. We’ve all been concentrating on the new Taycan, but then look outside and realise what mind-blowing locations we’re in. To drive across Europe like this for a launch feels unique, like it’s never been done before. It’s been amazing …”
Day Fourteen
Today has seen the photographers and video crews embedded with Taycan Roadtrip Europe busier than ever as the convoy has traversed the Bavarian and Austrian Alps, with media from Asia and Eastern Europe onboard.
The day started in Telfs, near Innsbruck, and ended in Mondsee. The 370 km of driving included the legendary Roßfeldstraße, which climbs to an altitude of 1,570 m above Berchtesgaden.
These are the sort of roads for which Porsche sports cars have always been designed, and the electric powertrain and dynamic handling characteristics of the Taycan certainly made a very positive impression on the media present.
Many cinematographers’ eyes have been caught by the stunning scenery of the area, not least the makers of the 1965 classic, The Sound of Music, which starred the Roßfeldstraße and the church in Mondsee almost as much as it did Julie Andrews. Today was no different, as the media called for individual shot after individual shot of the Taycan in the extraordinary Alpine landscapes. The three photographers and two video crews were kept very busy all day.
There was even a rush for footage at the lunch stop, which was at the Ionity charging station in Angath. With all twelve cars needing just a short 20 minute charge to take them back up to 85 per cent, there was time for the media to record some of the more surprising details of the Taycan, not least the way that, as an extension of the Comfort Access system, touching the bonnet of the car below the Porsche badge opens the 81 litre front luggage compartment.
Day Thirteen
Today has been the thirteenth day of Taycan Roadtrip Europe, and media from Germany, Switzerland and Austria have driven 361 km from Lake Constance to Innsbruck, on a route with which has led even the locals to compliment its wide variety of great driving roads.
Today has also been notable as the media have been doing a lot of swapping between cars in order to drive both variants of the new Porsche Taycan, Turbo and Turbo S, and to experience the difference between them.
With the sort of exciting back roads with which this section of the event has become synonymous, the media have been keen to try out the extra punch that the Taycan Turbo S is capable of. Where conditions and the law allowed, they have been able to sample the 761 PS (combined power consumption 26.9 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions 0 g/km) that the Turbo S has available in overboost, giving a repeatable 0-100 km/h performance of 2.8 seconds, compared to up to 680 PS (combined power consumption 26.0 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions 0 g/km) and 3.2 seconds for the Turbo.
Nor does the fact that 90% of braking events are expected to be dealt with by recuperative braking prevent the Turbo S from being equipped with ceramic brakes as standard, which sit under 21” wheels. This contrasts to the Porsche Surface Coated Brakes and 20” wheels with which the Turbo is equipped.
The discussions that these comparisons provoked also led to the question being asked as to why an electric car should be called Turbo. Mayk Wienkötter was on hand to explain that “it is obviously historically, rather than technically, driven. Forty years ago, we inadvertently created a sub-brand when we produced the first Porsche 911 Turbo, and ever since then, it has been easily understood as the top derivative of the model line.”
Day Twelve
The Taycan Roadtrip Europe has crossed Baden Württemberg, home state of Porsche and where the legendary driving roads of the Black Forest can be found.
Starting today in Strasbourg, France, the convoy soon found itself threading its way through the mountain passes and wooded valleys of the Schwarzwald, with media from Norway, Finland, Belgium and France having the chance to find out what the Taycan is all about, on the roads which have played a large part in its inspiration.
The day included a quick lunch stop and charge at the Ionity Station in Neckarburg and ended with a beautiful drive along the shores of Lake Constance to the last of nine countries to be visited, Austria.
We are now two thirds of the way through Taycan Roadtrip Europe in terms of time, but only half the way through in terms of distance – so we’ll be picking up the tempo, and covering more miles every day from now on, starting with the drive to Innsbruck tomorrow.
Day Eleven
After their press conferences this morning, media from France, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Norway set off in 12 Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S electric sports cars just after lunch today as they drove from Luxembourg to Strasbourg.
Drive time was between four and five hours as the journalists enjoyed the tightest and twistiest roads of the whole event so far, as the route wound its sinuous way through the Voges Mountains. More than any section of the road trip so far, it was the chance for the Taycan to show its colours as a true Porsche. The knowledge of generations of Weissach’s chassis engineers combines in the Taycan with state-of-the-art systems like Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control Sport, which features electromechanical anti-roll bars that can react in just 200 milliseconds. Hairpin after hairpin also demonstrated the huge benefits of rear-axle steering, optional on the Taycan Turbo and standard on the Taycan Turbo S, where the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts at speeds up to 50 km/h for even more agility, and in the opposite direction at higher speeds to help stability.
David K Andersen, a journalist from Bil og Motorbloggen in Norway, said that he was really impressed with the event. “It was a brave decision to undertake a trans-continental drive across Europe in a new car, using new infrastructure to support it, but it has been superbly executed and I have really enjoyed being a part of it.”
Day Ten
The Taycan Roadtrip Europe has based itself in Luxembourg today as television crews from all over the world have been out in all 18 cars.
Media drives normally start and finish in the same location, and the route today has taken on a more conventional form as crews from Brazil, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Lebanon, South Africa, Italy and the UK have all spent the day filming the Taycan on the roads around Luxembourg.
All 18 Taycan electric sports cars charged at the Ionity Station in Niederöfflingen, to the north east of Trier and back over the border in Germany. More chargers were being installed while the media were there, leading one journalist to comment that the charging infrastructure was literally being added to while he was having lunch. Charging performance of the day was won by one Taycan, which was charged from 2 per cent to 80 per cent in just 22 minutes.
Among the television presenters was racing legend Klaus Niedzwiedz, who made his name driving in the 24 Hour races at Le Mans and the Nürburgring, not to mention DTM, in the 1980s. It appears that the Taycan made quite an impression on him as he was moved to say, “I drove a 900 hp, 850 kg racing car at Le Mans and the Taycan feels more agile and accelerates harder than it did.”
Day Nine
As the Taycan Roadtrip Europe has reached its halfway point, the convoy has completed another 300 km today, passing from Belgium and into France for the first time, before crossing back into Belgium and finally finishing the day in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Our man at the event, Mayk Wienkötter has reported in that the roads through the Ardennes have been some of the most demanding, and exhilarating, of the trip so far. “After a drive like today’s, there’s absolutely no doubt at all that that the Taycan is 100 per cent Porsche.”
As the embargo lifted at midnight, the first media reviews have started to come in too.
Auto Express Magazine said “the new Porsche Taycan could well be the finest and most complete electric car we’ve ever driven. It handles like a sports car, with savage acceleration and an agile, rewarding chassis – yet offers four seats and a usable range. Price will limit its popularity to begin with, but if the entry level models are anything like as good as this top spec Turbo S – and we’ve little reason doubt they will be – the Taycan could go from being a great EV, to being a great car full stop.”
BBC Top Gear Magazine said, “Stuttgart’s first EV is a proper Porsche – massively fast, great to drive, quick to charge and practical enough to use every day.”
Day Eight
Day Eight of Taycan Roadtrip Europe has seen the 12 Porsche Taycan electric sports cars show their all-weather credentials, as media from the Netherlands, Spain and Italy drove them in torrential rain the 424 km from Amsterdam to Mons.
With all-wheel drive and a state-of-the-art suite of safety systems, the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S coped perfectly with everything the horrendous autumnal weather had to throw at them. The media convoy effortlessly tracked down the Dutch coast before turning inland, crossing into Belgium, charging at the Ionity Station in Wetteren and heading across Flanders to the stop for the night in the city of Mons.
Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson Model Line Taycan and E-Mobility, was one of those driving a Taycan in the atrocious weather today. “Even on those sections of the route when we were able to press on, the Taycan was just so incredibly sure-footed. It was just a shame that the media with us today weren’t able to enjoy the beautiful weather that we’ve been having so far on Taycan Roadtrip Europe. That said, it did rather effectively demonstrate what a brilliant car the Taycan is in all weather conditions, and how easy it is to drive it very long distances, even in horrendous weather and with every electrical system working flat out.”
Day Seven
Today’s route for the Taycan Roadtrip Europe started in Bremen in Northern Germany and finished, 449 km later, in Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands. As the longest day’s driving to include the very high speeds possible on sections of de-restricted autobahn, a second brief charging stop was scheduled, where a few cars were selected to demonstrate the way that up to 100 km of charge can be added in just five minutes.
Lunch was taken across the Dutch border at the Ionity station in Apeldoorn, where peak charging rates of over 260 kW were once again achieved. No waiting at the four chargers was required as the media arrived, had their cars’ batteries topped up while enjoying lunch, and got on their way again before the next car arrived.
After lunch, the route left the motorway and meandered its way along the Dutch coast, including crossing the stunning Houtribdijk, a 27 km dam which runs straight across the middle of the IJsselmeer inland sea. This saw the convoy of Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars running in company with another form of alternative propulsion today, as sailing boats tacked and gybed their way alongside the road.
The final leg of the Chinese media’s journey in the Taycan brought them into Amsterdam, and their hotel for the night, which is situated in the up and coming Houthaven district. Tomorrow, we bid them goodbye, and welcome media from the Netherlands, Spain and Italy as the convoy heads across the Low Countries to Mons, in Belgium.
Day Six
The sixth day of the Taycan Roadtrip Europe saw the Chinese media driving across the stunning Lüneburg Heath and down de-restricted sections of the A1 autobahn from Hamburg to Bremen.
The 12-car fleet departed the hotel and initially negotiated the city streets of Hamburg, crossing the river and following a route that allowed the Chinese media to appreciate the beautiful autumnal colours of the Lüneburg Heath National Park, which was utterly stunning in bright sunshine and 25 degree temperatures.
By chance, there were a lot of vintage tractors and horses and carriages in the area, allowing some fortuitously symbolic moments, as the state-of-the-art Taycan found itself juxtaposed with rather more traditional modes of transport.
Today’s route also included 80 km of the A1 autobahn. As sections of it are de-restricted, some of the media were delighted to have the opportunity to really stretch the legs of the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars, achieving very high speeds where the lack of speed limits, light traffic volumes and perfect driving conditions permitted.
As today’s route was only 276 km, no charging stop was required and the cars were able to make their Bremen destination with ease, ready for more driving on this 48 hour media rotation the following morning.
Day Five
It’s one third of the way into Taycan Roadtrip Europe, and the North American media have departed and their counterparts from China have arrived, ready to set off from Hamburg across Lüneburg Heath in the morning.
Even during this planned brief hiatus in the journey, the photographers were out before dawn, capturing stunning images of the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S electric sportscars as the sun came up over Hamburg.
As well as a new contingent of media, a fresh team of experts from Porsche, including Miriam Mohamad, André Müller, Bernd Propfe and Maik-Uwe Zillich will be joining the event for the next 48 hours.
Day Four
The fourth day of the Taycan drive has seen a new peak charging performance this trip for the Taycan, with a mighty 264 kW of charge being supplied by the Ionity Station during a lunch stop near Neumünster.
On the second day of the North American media’s 48 hour rotation, the 12 Taycan fleet has made faultless progress from the Danish town of Borkop all the way down to the great Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Almost as soon as they set off, the cars headed out onto some exhilarating driving roads, before the Drive said goodbye to Scandinavia and crossed the border into Germany.
The lunch, and charging stop, on the A7 at Aalbek at the 233km point of a 320km day, was after a section of derestricted autobahn. The new record charging performance for the drive, with a recorded 264 kW, was achieved thanks to Ionity’s superb charging infrastructure – and a couple of our media guests arriving with less than 5% of charge.
Experts from Porsche, including Matthias Kirchgässner, Director Sales and Marketing Product Line Taycan and Benjamin Passenberg, Manager High-Voltage System Taycan, were on hand to increase the already high level of knowledge of the media participating in the Taycan Drive. During a break from autobahn driving, Ralf Häßler, Director Aerodynamics and Thermal Management, was able to explain how the flat floor and extremely wide rear diffuser, which are possible on an electric car, not to mention the air curtains round the headlights, help the Taycan achieve the lowest drag co-efficient of any Porsche at 0.22.
Day Three
The third day of the Taycan Drive has just finished and the convoy has just arrived at their stop for the night near the Danish town of Borkop, having started the day in Copenhagen.
This has been the first of two days for the American and Canadian media. Today’s drive has seen 12 Taycan Turbo and Turbo S electric sports cars complete 343 km in a little over five hours, stopping for the drivers to enjoy lunch, and the cars a quick charge, at the Ionity Station in Nyborg.
Feedback from the media has been very positive, with the route coming in for special praise, as it has been particularly scenic today, taking in Själland, the crossing of the Great Belt via the Storebarlt Bridge and, after lunch, the island of Funen.
Mayk Wienkötter has been really moved today by the warmth of the reception wherever the cars have been. “Everywhere we drive, we have been greeted with smiles and waves, especially from the kids. The Taycan just looks so futuristic – they can tell it’s really new and how it is obviously a really special car. I’ve been told that a lot of media have been trying out the launch control system of the Taycan today, and putting to the test how it can be done repeatedly. I did hear from one media colleague that they had set up a camera while their passenger was sleeping, and then performed a 2.8 second 0-100km/h start. That must have been quite the way to be woken up! We’ll be crossing the border into Germany just north of Hamburg tomorrow and the media will experience their first sections of de-restricted autobahn at the wheel of the Taycan, which I believe a few are really looking forward to.”
Day Two
At the end of the second day of the Taycan media launch, the convoy has reached Copenhagen. With media from the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Germany at their wheels, 12 Porsche Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S electric sportscars have made their way from Gothenburg in Sweden all the way to Denmark’s capital today.
410 effortless kilometres have been ticked off with all types of driving included, from city traffic to plenty of exhilarating twists and turns as the back roads followed the Swedish coastline. The route also included some cruising along the motorway to the Ionity Charging Station at Circle K, Varberg Nord. Each car had a quick 20 minute charge while its driver enjoyed lunch from the Airstream travel trailer that is being towed the whole length of the event by a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid. From there, they were soon crossing the border into Denmark via the stunning Øresund Bridge, before serenely negotiating the city streets of Copenhagen.
“It’s been another very successful day,” according to Mayk Wienkötter, our man on the scene. “The cars and charging infrastructure are making it all look very easy.”
Day One
This morning, no fewer than 18 gleaming examples of the first electric sports car from Porsche left Oslo at the beginning of a media drive entirely in keeping with the ambition and significance of the Porsche Taycan. If any doubt remained in anyone’s minds as to the importance of the occasion, it would have been immediately banished by the presence of almost the whole board of Porsche, including CEO Oliver Blume and the press conference’s keynote speaker, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development, Michael Steiner.
In blustery Norwegian sunshine, journalists from China, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland and Norway set off from The Thief Hotel, gliding effortlessly south through Oslo towards the Swedish border. Porsche brand ambassadors Mark Webber and Aksel Lund Svindal were on hand to share their experiences of driving the Taycan, with the sort of insights only possible from two of the fastest people ever on four wheels and two skis respectively. Once clear of the city limits, the media were able to sample the performance-orientated dynamics of the Taycan on some of Norway’superb driving roads, before a long run down the highway to the Swedish border. Once customs formalities had been cleared, the cars forged onwards to the only charging stop of a 400km day’s driving, the Ionity station in Strömstad. The cars’ batteries were topped up during a quick 20 minute stop, thanks to charging rates of up to 258kW being recorded. From there, the cars re-joined the highway for the rest of the journey to Gothenburg.
Mayk Wienkötter, Spokesperson for E-Mobility and Product Line Taycan for Porsche, said “we have set out to demonstrate the thrilling way that the Taycan drives alongside its sheer usability, with a journey from city to city across Europe. This is only possible due to our car’s range, which is up to 450km according to WLTP, and efficient charging infrastructure that already exists. Tomorrow’s long-distance combination of city streets, highway and back roads takes us to Copenhagen.
