I have driven fully electric cars before, the Nissan Leaf and BMWi3 were interesting and with the Jaguar I-Pace I experienced my first dirt road in silence. Then, at the 2015 Frankfurt Motorshow, I was lucky enough to have a short stint on the German autobahn in the – at the time – most powerful AMG, the SLS Electric Drive. Flying past traffic with 200km/h in total silence was an eerie experience. The SLS Electric Drive featured four water-cooled electric motors, one at each wheel, resulting in a total output of 552kW and 1000Nm of torque. The top speed was electronically limited to 250km/h. The 0 to 100 km/h time was 3.9 seconds. And the range was about 250km. It also set a record time of 7:56min around Nurburgring. In 2013 the price of the SLS electric drive in Germany was a staggering 416 500 Euros. Less than 100 units were sold worldwide.

The four-door, four-seater Taycan Turbo S is in another universe. It costs less than half of what the SLS retailed for in 2013 and it is ‘mass’-produced in a brand-new, 700 million Euro factory in Zuffenhausen. It features two electric motors, one in front, one in the rear, resulting in all-wheel drive. But thanks to a lot of software, there is plenty of synchronizing going on between the two, depending on road surface and performance requirements. It is a more refined electric drive. Porsche incorporated a lot of their electric Le Mans experience into the Taycan. It is the first electric production car with 800 volts. All the competition uses 400. The high voltage improves performance and reduces recharge times enormously. With a proper charger it takes about 20 minutes to load 300 kilometers of range. By the way the Nurburgring time of the Taycan Turbo S is 7:42min.

And inside it’s also Porsche, but copying neither 911 or Panamera. I particularly love the fixed panoramic glass roof. And what about the Turbo S badge? It obviously doesn’t stand for fitted turbos any longer, it’s now a Porsche description of a very sporty car. And while the Turbo S is the flagship Taycan, Turbo and 4S are not disappointing either.

Porsche successfully injected their DNA into a normally aseptic, soul-less mode of transportation. Thus turning it into another exciting Porsche model. A ground-breaking, revolutionary and very silent one, but still unmistakenly a Porsche. A unique combination of comfort and performance. Zuffenhausen didn’t promise too much. The new Taycan is indeed ‘Soul. Electrified’.