Vision 960 Turismo
Porsche explains that, in a way, the Vision Turismo built in 2016 is the Taycan‘s indirect predecessor.
“When walking past, I saw a schematic representation of the Porsche 918 on a designer’s drawing board in our studio, and a line had been redrawn with a felt-tip pen to clearly show the falling contour. From the corner of my eye, it looked like a rear door joint. I was astonished,” remembered Mauer. He immediately started sketching.
His aim was to create a new kind of supercar, one that accelerated and handled like a sports car but that could comfortably seat four passengers. After hesitating between a rear- and a mid-mounted engine, and drawing proposals for both layouts, he decided the best way forward was to make the car electric. Putting a six- or an eight-cylinder engine behind the rear axle would take up valuable trunk space, while installing it in the middle of the car would inevitably make the cabin cramped. An electric motor is more compact than an engine, so Mauer realized he could create a sedan with a shapely design and a low center of gravity without compromising comfort.
Porsche never built the 960 Turismo, but the lessons learned during the project directly influenced the Taycan.