The Porsche Taycan 4S Is A 523bhp EV For The Price Of A Base 911

Porsche has revealed a new, more affordable version of the Taycan electric coupe, and the price looks rather tempting – in relative terms, at least.

Its £83,367 tag is just £574 higher than the 911 Carrera’s, and that’s before any government grant or incentive is taken into account. It’s not confirmed whether the UK will allow buyers of an £83,000 EV to claim what could be seen as a rather cheeky discount.

The 523bhp Taycan 4S sits below the (sigh) Turbo and Turbo S models but still packs enough punch to repeatedly launch to 62mph in 4.0 seconds. Thanks to a two-speed gearbox at the rear axle it will also hit the customary 155mph speed limiter.

As the name implies, the 4S is four-wheel drive just like its big brothers. A motor on each axle follows the same format as the Turbo twins but an 80mm shorter unit at the back offers less grunt.

A super-slippery drag coefficient of 0.22 helps the middleweight Taycan reach a WLTP-spec range of 252 miles per charge with the standard 79.2kWh battery setup. Interestingly, Porsche is also offering a Performance Battery Plus upgrade with 93.4kWh hidden away and an extra 35 miles to play with: range rises to a theoretical 287 miles and is the longest of any Taycan so far.

The battery upgrade brings other benefits. The standard cells can recharge at up to 225kW while the Plus unit can match the Turbo’s 270kW charge speed. If you can find a charger powerful enough, you’ll recoup energy about 20 per cent more quickly in the Plus model.

That’s not all, as the Performance Battery Plus option raises peak power output to 563bhp. The car may not technically need the extra 40bhp but we don’t expect to hear many complaints.

All Taycan 4S models that avoid the almost inevitable options bonanza will be differentiated from Turbo and Turbo S cars by Taycan S Aero wheels measuring 19 inches across. They highlight red brake calipers – six-piston at the front, four-piston at the rear – and sit between revised front and rear bumpers for a less aggressive look. LED headlights are standard.

It’s only partial leather as standard inside the 4S, but eight-way electrical seat adjustment is plenty for most of us and the 10.9-inch infotainment screen remains. There are options for interior trim packages made from recycled materials, or completely excluding leathers.

Three-chamber air springs with Porsche 4D Chassis Control are standard too. Porsche Active Suspension Management adds to the acronyms and initialisms littering the brochure. With all this in mind, and a starting price that could be several thousand pounds less than the cheapest rear-driven 911 Carrera, we don’t think Porsche will be able to build the Taycan 4S fast enough.