Porsche confirms Taycan name for Mission E

There's something a little horse about Porsche's upcoming first electric car.

The German sports car brand has confirmed the sedan variant in its Mission E project will be called Taycan when it becomes a production reality next year.

Porsche says the name roughly translates to "lively little horse" and, while not only sounds familiar against models like the Cayman, Macan and Cayenne, references the prancing horse that has been part of its crest since 1952.

“Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it’s a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomises freedom”, said Porsche boss Oliver Blume at the company's 70 Years of Sports Cars celebration last weekend.

The Taycan will be powered by two synchronous electric motors with a total power output of at least 440kW, giving it the ability to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds while also offering over 500km in driving range. With an industry-first 800V charging system, the battery pack can be charged to 80 percent capacity in less than 20 minutes.

Apart from confirmation of the Taycan name, Blume also announced that Porsche will double its investment in electric mobility and has allocated to spend six billion euro (AUS$10m). A portion of that will be used to finalise the Taycan's development program for production next year, as well as create additional battery electric vehicles - like the Cross Turismo concept (above) that was first shown at the Geneva motor show earlier this year - additional plug-in hybrid variants of existing model lines, including the next-generation Macan and 911 and improvements and expansions to production facilities to cater for new technologies.