Porsche releases new Taycan teaser and tells us how to pronounce it

In a new teaser for its upcoming first all-electric vehicle, Porsche tells us how to pronounce ‘Taycan’ ahead of its launch next year.

As a concept vehicle, the Taycan was known as the ‘Mission E’.

It was first unveiled in 2016 and we got used to the name, but it was known to just be the name of the concept and that Porsche planned to have a different name for the production version.

For Porsche, its naming scheme is not a joke.

Michael Reichert, project manager for the Taycan naming project, said:

“All aspects of the name determination process are covered: automobile-related, creative, technical, legal, and linguistic. A name for a car is ultimately an emotional decision—but one that should be based on facts and arguments. That requires a systematic approach and a lot of attention to detail,”

In June 2018, that attention to detail led them to announce that the name would be ‘Taycan’.

They said about the origin and meaning of the name:

“Composed of two terms of Turkic origin, this word can be roughly translated as “soul of a spirited young horse.” And that’s exactly what the first fully electric Porsche will be: lively, impetuous, vigorous, light-footed on long stretches without tiring, and free-spirited.”

We’ve known what it means but we have apparently been pronouncing it all kinds of wrong.

In a new short teaser video, Porsche clarified the name and tells us exactly how to pronounce it:

In the teaser, we also get a rare good look at the front shape of the Taycan, which is expected to be updated in the production version:

The German automaker says that it wants to keep the production design fairly close to what we saw with the Mission E concept.

We have seen some test mules in the wild, but they were heavily camouflaged.

Porsche plans to bring the vehicle to production around the end of next year.

Earlier this year, the automaker said that it “enters the electric era with the new Taycan” and shared some details about its progress toward production.

The vehicle is expected to have a range of over 250 miles, but the most impressive feature is arguably the 800-volt system. It is double the voltage of most EVs and should allow a charge rate of up to 350 kW, which could charge the car up to 80% in only 15 minutes.