Cheapest Taycan could be the one to have.

Porsche has revealed a more affordable version of its breakthrough electric vehicle, the Taycan.

This new entry-level model has a less potent battery pack and lower overall power output. But it is also rear-wheel drive, which should be a point of appeal, for Porsche traditionalists.

The new Taycan base model sits below the ‘4S’ derivative and uses a smaller 79.2 kWh battery pack. A single rear axle electric motor delivers 300 kW of power. The removal of the motor and the lighter battery pack mean the entry-level Taycan is just over 90 kg lighter than the Taycan 4S.

As with all things Porsche, there is an upgrade option. You can order your base specification rear-wheel-drive Taycan with a Performance Plus battery, that rates at 93.4 kWh of energy density. That boosts peak power from 300- to 350 kW.

The irony is that both the 300- and 350 kW Taycans both have a similar 0-100 kph benchmark acceleration time of 5.1 seconds, due to the mass burden of that larger battery pack on the 350 kW version.

Range is always an issue when considering a high-performance vehicle drawing its power from onboard batteries, and the base specification Taycan should manage 412 km on a charge. The Performance Plus variant ups that to 489 km. Those numbers are short of a comparable Tesla, with theModel Sclaiming arange of 647 km.

Porsche claims that its new rear-wheel-drive Taycans will recharge from 5- to 80% battery capacity in just under 23 minutes.

For those who believe that the best Porsches have always been rear-wheel drive, the new Taycan base model is an interesting offering.Priced at R2222700 it isn’t what one would call affordable, but compared to the 4S or Turbo, it offers a much lower price point.

The 420kW Taycan 4S retails for R2586000 whilst Porsche’s lead derivative, its 500kW Taycan Turbo, requires a significant R3426000 investment to secure ownership.

Porsche Taycan Pricing in SA (Jan 2021)

Porsche Taycan RWD – R2 222 700

Porsche Taycan 4S – R2 586 000

Porsche Taycan Turbo – R3 426 000

Porsche Taycan Turbo S – 4 027 000