2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Revealed And It's Quicker Than Before

The Taycan was revealed less than a year ago and went on sale late 2019 so you might be wondering what could Porsche possibly change so early to warrant a full-blown press release? Actually, quite a lot. The 2021 model year switch comes with an array of updates in terms of performance, technology, and appearance.

First and foremost, go for the range-topping Turbo S and the 0 to 124 mph (200 km/h) run will take only 9.6 seconds provided Launch Control is turned on. That's an improvement of 0.2 seconds compared to the 2020 Taycan Turbo S. The quicker performance in the sprint has obviously had a positive impact on the quarter-mile time as well, which now takes 10.7 seconds or a tenth of a second less than before.

The 2021 Taycan will be optionally offered with a color head-up display that can be configured to show a navigation display, power meter, and additional pre-sets selected by the driver. It's split into three sections, with main display and status screen joined by a customizable temporary content area that can show calls or voice control commands, for example.

Porsche's electric sedan also gets a Smartlift function that comes as standard as long as you order the Taycan with the adaptive air suspension. What it does is allow the driver to preset when the front lift system automatically kicks in, similar to the front-axle lift offered by the Corvette C8. The peeps from Zuffenhausen mention it does more than that as it also adjusts the vehicle's height on the fly while driving on the highway to balance efficiency and comfort.

The transition to 2021MY comes along with an optional 22-kW onboard charger that cuts the time it takes to charge the battery in half compared to the standard 11-kW charger. Porsche is also adding a new function to charge the battery while maximizing its lifespan by limiting the charging capacity to around 200 kW.

Support for over-the-air updates allows Porsche to offer what it refers to as Functions on Demand. These are basically optional features Taycan owners can get as monthly subscriptions, including Active Lane Keep Assist for €19.50 in Germany where the Porsche Intelligent Range Manager (PIRM) costs €10.72. Customers can obviously have these permanently at a one-time fee of €808.10 and €398.69, respectively. Power Steering Plus is also available as a Function on Demand, but it's offered exclusively as a purchase option for €320.71. All pricing applicable in Germany.

Rounding off the changes brought by the model year changeover are the standard digital radio, an optional Carbon Sport Design package for all Taycan versions, and seven fresh paint choices: Ice Grey Metallic, Coffee Beige Metallic, Mahogany Metallic, Chalk, Neptune Blue, Cherry Metallic, and Frozenberry Metallic.

Porsche will begin to take orders for the 2021 Taycan from mid-September and dealers will have them in showrooms a month later.