NACYAT

by Michael Tashjian​
​Exactly.  They say the older you get the more you cannot believe what you’ve seen.  I’ve seen an airplane land on the Hudson, brail buttons on drive up ATM’s, and the birth of a cow in that movie City Slickers with Billy Crystal, but I’ll tell you this friend, never did I think I’d see an electric car for practical use.  Well, maybe I still haven’t, we’ll see.
 
    It was not too many “flatten the curve” weeks ago I predicted in this very periodical that electric cars were all but doomed.  Lack of infrastructure (which remain mind you), poor recharging capabilities in relation to its petrol counterpart, thermal runaway as a result of damage, and finally the significant carbon footprint left behind at it relates to cobalt and lithium batteries as a whole.  Quick sidenote on that last point.  I am sure a recycling method is in the works at a thinktank somewhere, or so I hope.  I also enjoy the marketing strategy of EV’s, sort of like the pharmaceutical commercials to grow your eyelashes longer and the disclaimer.  Listen up next time, “in rare cases (well that’s relative) we’ve seen blindness yellow eyes, hotdog fingers (ok made that up), death, lack of muscle control, etc.”  One must ask the question, is the cure worse than the disease? 
  
    Many clients and PCA members have asked over the years, how does it work?  Is it a hybrid?  Where do babies come from?  Is it practical?  Will I be castrated for not supporting the Global Warming movement if I don’t concede to the mob and buy an EV?  All pertinent questions this day in age.  The long and short to all these concerns and interests is, if you are looking for the best performing off the line luxury electric sedan this is it bar none.  Using strictly the metrics of performance, aesthetics, and cache, this is the real deal, or so it seems.   Having driven them around Monticello Motor Club on more than one occasion in varying conditions at speed, I can say the Turbo lineup is the way to go.
 
    Let’s briefly touch on what we’re working with when it comes to the Taycan.  Sporting a skateboard setup for the lithium-ion battery pack, all-wheel drive drivetrain (available), packaged in a 35% aluminum body, makes the Taycan fast, really fast.  Fast enough to blow the doors off most registered DE metal.  I know it is unfair, in fact it is borderline discriminatory against those of us who which to emit toxins into the atmosphere via our little flat six, dam you PC culture.  Ok, focus.  The undocumented but tested range on a 4S is 300 miles give or take depending on your driving habits.  Porsche numbers are way too conservative for print.  Cabin is very Panameraesc, and the overall styling is not too far off from a four door CGT.  Ohh, price, a hundred and change for a 4S and tack on 65 for a Turbo nicely equipped.  And why we’re calling it a Turbo?  I have no idea since it is electric vehicle.  If anyone out there reading can change this for the facelifted model, I like Neutrinos.
 
    For those members who are considering an electric car I highly advise making the trek to your nearest dealer for a test drive.  Granted it will feel adulterous for some of us petrol heads to slip into an electric car-too far.  But, with the promise of sub 3 second 0-60’s coming soon, one must question, am I looking for the best performance package on the block risking being booted out of my fantasy football league for it?  Guess that depends on who you plan on pulling for your QB this year and what the other guy drives.  
 
Members- email michael@formulamotorsports.com with ideas for future articles or questions I can answer in the following months issue.  Nothing too over the line though, yes you J.O.