Porsche Taycan to receive new Enhanced battery pack improving range

A twitter user has reported that he is awaiting his new Turbo Porsche Taycan, and that it will receive a new “enhanced” battery pack that is rumored to improve range. Details are of course light at this point, but the launch of the Taycan has been plagued by it's perceived lack of range when compared to the Tesla Model S which now sits at nearly 400 miles of range for nearly half the cost. If true, this opens up several questions. Is this a hardware or software update? If it is a hardware update, will existing Taycans get the new pack as well?

The Porsche Taycan battery pack can be seen in the video below:

The Taycan is built around the J1 platform which is a mixture of steel and aluminium joined together by different bonding techniques. The B pillars of the body, side roof frame and seat cross member are made from hot-formed steel while the bulkhead cross member is made from boron steel to improve safety. The shock absorber mounts, axle mounts and rear side members are made from forged aluminum, while all body panels except the front and rear bumpers are also made from aluminum to reduce weight. In total, 37% of the car is constructed of aluminium.

The Taycan uses a new battery-electric drivetrain consisting of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor on each axle, allowing the car to have an all-wheel drive layout. At the front, power is sent to the wheels through a single-speed gearbox (8.05:1 gear ratio). At the rear, power is sent to the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission and a limited slip differential. The gearbox has a short planetary first gear (8.05:1) providing maximum acceleration performance and a long-ratio second gear (16:1) delivering top speed and efficiency.[2] Power comes from a 93 kWh 630 kg (1,389 lb) lithium-ion battery pack that doubles as a structural chassis component and keeps the center of gravity low.[2] In order to address space issues for passenger sitting on the rear seats, recesses called “foot garages” have been incorporated in the battery pack to improve legroom. The 723 volt pack (835 volt full, 610 volt empty) has 33 modules with 12 LG Chem pouch cells each, for 396 cells in total.[2][8]

The driving range depends upon how the car is driven and what driving mode is selected. A “range” driving setting puts the car in a power save mode with the lowest power consumption while an “Overdrive” mode utilises maximum power while decoupling the front axle. The car has a total of five modes namely Sport, Sport Plus, Normal, Overdrive, Range along with an Individual mode in which the driver can customise various settings of the car.[9] Regenerative braking provides up to 265 kW,[10] yielding a deceleration of 0.39 G.[2]

Porsche has developed an 800-volt charging system specifically for the Taycan. According to manufacturer estimates, the battery pack can be charged from a 5% state of charge to 80% in 22.5 minutes in ideal situations, with a DC fast charger offering 270 kW of power. Charge times are dependent on weather conditions and infrastructure. When purchasing a Taycan, owners receive three years free access to the speed charging infrastructure of Porsche's joint venture partner, IONITY.[11]

To reduce charge times in both hot and cold temperatures, the battery can be thermally preconditioned using a charging planner. Owners simply need to set a departure time in the planner and the car will automatically warm or cool the battery for optimal charging times. A charging dock and mobile charger supplied with the car for home charging connect with a 9.6-kW connector that charges the car in 11 hours. Porsche has also developed an energy manager that can be installed in the house's circuit breaker. It is capable of managing a house's power flow, providing cost optimising charging, using solar power and providing blackout protection by reducing the charge to the car if other household appliances, such as fridges or dryers, turn on and exceed the breaker's max power threshold.[12]

The Taycan Turbo has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.22, which the manufacturer claims is the lowest of any current Porsche model. The Turbo S model has a slightly higher drag coefficient of Cd=0.25.[13][12] The frontal area is 2.33 m², with a resulting drag area of 0.513 m² and 0.583 m² for the Turbo and Turbo S, respectively.[14][15][16]

Independent testing by the United States Environmental Protection Agency has afforded the Taycan Turbo a range of 201 miles (323 km).[17]