Porsche Taycan is ‘most important innovation driver’

July 15, 2020December 23, 2020 Iain Curry 2548 Views electric sports car, ev, porsche, Porsche Taycan, Taycan

As if securing a brace of World Car of the Year 2020 category wins wasn’t enough, a group of automotive scientists has declared Porsche’s Taycan “the most innovative car in the world”.

Cue smug looks form the all-electric sports car, which has already earned ours and countless other motoring reviewers’ praise ahead of its Australian showroom arrival by year’s end.

According to an AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Report published by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM), the Taycan is “the most important innovation driver in the global automotive market” thanks to its total of 27 new developments; with 13 of these, almost half, being world firsts.

Technology leader

Innovations particularly singled out for praise include the Taycan’s 800-volt architecture allowing short charging times (400 volts is more typical), two-speed transmission on the rear axle, recuperative power of up to 265kW and an aerodynamic Cd value – from 0.22 – that’s best in segment.

For reference, CAM is an independent scientific institute specialising in automotive and mobility research at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Well, you didn’t expect this award to come from China, did you?

The institute has been analysing auto innovation since 2005, and in conjunction with auditing and consulting giants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), they recognise what they deem the most outstanding innovations in their annual awards. Some 250 production vehicles were evaluated for 2019/20.

Australian countdown

Australian order books are already open for the Taycan ahead of its local arrival late in the year. The 390kW Taycan 4S is priced from $190,400, the 500kW Taycan Turbo from $268,500 and 560kW Taycan Turbos S from $338,500. All priced before on-roads.

Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, said the award was “a fantastic confirmation of the innovative strength of our company and the pioneering spirit that can be found at Porsche. We have developed a new car with a new team and have built a completely new carbon-neutral factory.”

The CAM recognition follows the Taycan being crowned World Performance Car and World Luxury Car at the World Car of the Year 2020 awards.

While Porsche says it doesn’t consider the Tesla Model S as a direct rival to its Taycan, the market, EV enthusiasts and a certain Elon Musk clearly disagree. We eagerly await the innovation king’s arrival.

Iain Curry

A motoring writer and photographer for two decades, Iain started in print magazines in London as editor of Performance BMW and features writer for BMW Car, GT Porsche and 4Drive magazines. His love of motor sport and high performance petrol cars was rudely interrupted in 2011 when he was one of the first journalists to drive BMW's 1 Series ActiveE EV, and has been testing hybrids, PHEVs and EVs for Australian newspapers ever since. Based near Noosa in Queensland, his weekly newspaper articles cover new vehicle reviews and consumer advice, while his photography is regularly seen on the pages of glossy magazines.