Among the many worldwide best-known German brand names originating in neighboring Austria, Porsche probably ranks a distant second. Although I am willing to bet that the undisputed occupant of the top step of this podium isn’t famed for his Vienna residence, the runner-up Porsche is now a well-established institution of German automotive mastery. Recently, one of the company’s electric creations went down under to see what’s what about the ‘Mozart, not Kangaroos’ conundrum.
Specifically, an electric Taycan 4S Cross Turismo went all the way to the far end of Planet Piston – as seen from Stuttgart – to go on a walkabout in the scorching Australian heat, from Darwin to Bondi Beach. The EV covered 5,000 clicks (3,200 non-metric land miles) during its 19-day road trip.
The German company didn’t mention when the journey began with hours-and-minutes accuracy or when the Taycan crossed the finish line. (the car manufacturer didn't even say when the Taycan went on this past-time testing session). But the Stuttgart-based company makes it clear that it took 85 charge-hours (3 days 13 hours) to get the car going from one charging point to the next. In total, the automobile needed 27 stops to replenish the depleted cells.
Since most plug-in sessions occurred at night, we can deduce that Taycan only worked the day shifts. Considering the total number of hours for this endurance test (456 for the 19 days), we can calculate that the electric Porsche was effectively available for active duty for 371 hours (15 days 11 hours – give or take).
Photo: Porsche
To make the best out of this Australian version of a cannonball run, the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo brought the 22-kW onboard charger (optional equipment for the lightning-bolt-munching Porsche). The recharging sessions were performed on all available stations – from outback cattle farms to fast chargers or Porsche Destination Charging.
En-route destinations pitted the Taycan against the harsh Australian landscape, from Nitmiluk National Park’s Gorge in the Northern Territory to the Big Red sand dune in the Simpson Desert, before heading towards the surfer’s Nirvana at Bondi Beach, New South Wales.
Porsche used this event to demonstrate that EVs can coexist with and within our current way of living, no matter how adverse the environment is. The Germans wanted to prove that ‘electric road trips are not only feasible but also enjoyable,’ choosing the most hostile continent on earth to do that. (they should probably look at what the Scottish are doing; maybe they will find some inspiration in the flat Munro.)
Photo: Porsche
(If we would list the world’s most human-adverse regions, Australia wins by default. Apart from being home to some of the deadliest creatures on our planet, the sheer size of the Australian outback transforms an otherwise straightforward road trip into a rally stage. Bring survival gear for the driver and car and pray for favorable fortunes).
The Taycan 4S Cross Turismo had only the innate natural abilities to get through this trial. A 93.4-kWh battery pack feeding the 360-kW (484 hp /490 PS) dual-motor powertrain (one over each axle). I don’t suspect any hard launches were necessary during this three-week adventure, so the Taycan didn’t showcase the overboost peak power of 420 kW (565 hp /571 PS) or the maximum torque of 650 Nm (480 lb-ft).
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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