Porsche’s electrification strategy might spawn a battery-powered sedan positioned below the Taycan, according to a recent report. If it’s approved for production, the firm’s entry-level EV could be aimed directly at the BMW i4.
British magazine Autocar learned the sedan, which would be Porsche’s seventh model line, is under consideration. It hasn’t been approved for production yet, according to insiders, so details like its horsepower and its driving range have not been finalized. However, if it receives the proverbial green light, it will be built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that Porsche and sister company Audi are jointly developing to underpin a range of EVs.
The electric-only second-generation Macan will ride on the PPE platform, too, and it will share a lot of its drivetrain technology with its sedan sibling. Autocar believes single-motor rear-wheel-drive will come standard, while dual-motor all-wheel-drive will be either offered at an extra cost or made standard on upmarket variants. It’s an approach that makes sense: it’s how Porsche markets the Taycan and most of the gasoline-powered cars in its line-up.
Performance defines Porsche’s DNA, so the rumored sedan will reportedly arrive with a suitably sleek fastback-like roof line rather than as a three-box model. Its silhouette will be closer to the Panamera‘s than to the Rolls-Royce Ghost‘s, for example. Autocar reports the sedan will be sized like Audi’s electric next-generation A4; if that’s accurate, it would take Porsche into a segment it has never been present in. We’re not discounting the possibility that it will be bigger and more expensive, in the A6‘s realm, without creating internal competition for the Taycan.
Regardless, pricing will allegedly start in the vicinity of 50,000 British pounds, which represents about $70,900 at the current conversion rate. For context, the 718 Boxster starts at 47,090 pounds (around $66,800) across the pond. It’s priced at $62,600 in America, so pegging the sub-Taycan sedan’s American base price in the $65,000 range is not unreasonable. Porsche charges $79,900 for the most affordable version of the Taycan sedan.
Porsche hasn’t commented on the report, and it hasn’t publicly revealed how (or even if) its portfolio will grow in the 2020s. If the sedan earns the board’s nod of approval, it won’t arrive until 2022 at the very earliest, because that’s when PPE-based cars are scheduled to enter production. In addition to the new Macan, the platform will also underpin the next-generation A6 due out for 2024, and a crossover called Q6 E-Tron that will be unveiled in 2022.
Related video: