Motors
Porsche’s New Taycan Turbo S Is Its Most Powerful Production Car Yet
Deliveries of the upgraded EV are expected to begin this summer.
BY Bryan Hood  |  February 15, 2024
3 Minute Read
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Image courtesy of Porsche

The Porsche Taycan is upping its game while it’s still the only EV in the venerable marque’s line-up.

The luxury marque has just pulled back the curtain on the refreshed 2025 iteration of its battery-powered saloon. The EV may not look all that different, but a host of new upgrades combine to give it better performance than ever.

The refreshed Taycan won’t look much different than its predecessor. The shape and general styling cues of the saloon and Cross Turismo wagon/shooting brake variants are unchanged, but the front and rear ends have been reworked ever so slightly and equipped with new LED headlights and taillights. The interior doesn’t look much different, either, though it does feature new screens. The digital gauge cluster has been redesigned and there’s now an optional passenger-side screen (video can be played on it and the main central touchscreen). The infotainment system’s user interface has also been revised and is compatible with the next generation of Apple Car Play.

The 2025 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.
Image courtesy of Porsche

The big changes, though, are those you can’t see. Chief among these is that the Taycan will come with one of two new batteries. The standard pack increased usable capacity to 83.6 kWh, while the Performance Battery Plus, which comes standard on the Turbo and Turbo S, bumps that figure up to 97 kWh. The batteries are the same size as their predecessors but are lighter and offer more usable capacity. They also be charged quicker and should boost range significantly. We’ll have to wait for an official EPA rating, but, when using Europe’s more generous WLTP testing criteria, the base, rear-wheel-drive Taycan travelled 421 miles on a single charge when equipped with the high-performance battery, while the Taycan Turbo S’s range clocked in at 390 miles with the same set-up. Both figures represent a more than 100-mile improvement.

The rear motor used in the Taycan is also getting an upgrade. The new version is lighter and more powerful than before and offers better efficiency at high speeds. The base Taycan can produce a maximum of 402 hp, without launch control. It can go from zero to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, which is an improvement of more than a half-second. The top-of-the-line Turbo S, meanwhile, has a dual-motor set-up that produces a constant 764 hp and up to 938 hp when launch control is triggered, allowing it to rocket from zero to 60 mph in just 2.3 seconds. That makes it the most powerful Porsche road car of all time, besting even the 887-hp 918 Spyder supercar.

Inside the 2025 Taycan.
Image courtesy of Porsche

Unsurprisingly, the improvements come at a cost. Porsche is raising prices across the model line. The entry-level, rear-wheel-drive Taycan now starts at US$101,395 (HK$792,955) including delivery fees, which is US$8,845 (HK$69,170) more than before, while the Turbo S at US$210,995 (HK$1.65 million). The upgraded base Taycan 4 Cross Turismo starts at US$113,095 (HK$884,455) and the top-tier Turbo S Cross Turismo at US$213,695 (HK$1.67 million). Deliveries of the new and improved EVs are expected to begin this summer.