On the DEKRA oval runway in Lausitz Ring, Brandenburg, Germany, we drove the Porsche Taycan, setting a new record in the rain. What do we need to do to that end?
Fortunately, climate change has not yet hit the Lusatia region. In mid-May, the temperature here is still quite cold (11°C), very humid (20 liters/m2 of rain), and it is accompanied by some fog. "Boys, heaven forbid!" DEKRA Track Manager Uwe Burckhardt said, "You need to use 10% more electricity on rainy days than on dry roads. The previous 24-hour mass production of electric vehicles was recorded at 2,842 km. We feel that we must at least be able to reach this number this time. Of course, it would be nice to be able to accomplish a better result and present ams to its 75th anniversary.
Challenging the record were Mec Wincott of Porsche and Ahmed Magazine's chief tester, Johen Albich, and michael Pufayfer, the author of this article. Why Porsche? Because, when doing the vehicle evaluation, the Excellent Characteristics and Energy Consumption Performance of taycan left a deep impression on us. Thanks to the 800 volt voltage technology, it has an ultra-fast charging speed. Another reason is that a certain big factory suddenly rejected our request at the last moment with some reluctance. Porsche didn't, and Porsche in Zuffenhausen was very confident in providing us with a rear-drive basic Version Taycan. And, in order to match the stability of charging, they even equipped us with a charging truck very thoughtfully. Usually, the trucks are used for track activity or as a stopover on complex terrain, which saves us from having to drive two kilometres back and forth to the nearest fast-charging station in lausitzring. We parked the charging truck directly next to the road, and its 2.1 MWh of electricity guaranteed the stability of charging. We were joined in the challenge by Uli-Mike Radek, affectionately known as "Multi-Purpose Manager" by Meck. He has been involved in the Taycan project for many years, and the car is already "easy to use" for him.
Three o'clock in the afternoon was the official start time of the originally planned challenge, but unfortunately, the sky was not beautiful, and the pouring rain came unexpectedly. We had to push back the start time and discuss strategies while the rain stopped. "The best solution would be for us to drive at 180 in the straights and then 160 in the corners," Meck reiterated the strategy we had previously developed at the Weissach R&D Center. "Charging time is also parking time, and we should use this time more optimally." That is, we charge at maximum power, and when the charge reaches 47%, the Taycan automatically starts limiting the charging efficiency, at which point we stop charging and start driving until the charge drops to between 3% and 5%." It sounds like there are going to be a lot of parking charge times. 47% of the electricity is equivalent to a little more than 40 kWh, and almost 100 km taycan requires 40 kWh of electricity. However, in this way, it only takes 10 to 12 minutes of charging time to charge 40 kWh into the lithium battery. "We can drive in double stages," Johen added slowly. Even in slippery corners, speeds of 160 km / h can be accepted. "Tire slip doesn't happen..." Yoheng said with a laugh. The torrential rain gradually weakened, with only a few scattered raindrops, and we were going to officially start. The batteries are full and a walkie-talkie is prepared in the car, so that you can quickly request support in the event of an emergency. Uwe also arranged for the fire to be on standby (how fast are we going to drive?). ), ambulances are also in place.
19:22: Taycan is ready, Johen can't help but want to step on the electric door immediately, and despite the rain on the body, we still glue the magazine's 75th anniversary foil to the body. I started counting down, and with an imperceptible sound of electricity, the Taycan ghostly rushed out and drove through the straight to the bend, and the 24-hour timing challenge officially began! The wheels brought a layer of fog, the original bright brake lights loomed, And jon had turned into a corner, gradually disappearing into the dim night. "What is my speed?" "2 minutes a lap, already 2 laps." Uli expressed satisfaction that the tyres were 3.3 bar, the batteries were not overheated, and Johen drove the Taycan round and round while we were forced by the rain to retreat into the bus used as a mobile home.
Johen stopped talking. How long does a full battery last? About an hour later we called him, "Still alive?" "The battery is 28% charged, the battery temperature is 39°C, and the tires are normal!" Sounds like everything is not bad. It's my turn to appear in a moment. The wait was always laborious and the atmosphere was a little tense, and apart from two test drives, I didn't know much about the Taycan and the oval track, especially in the rain. However, there is no other choice, and there is no escape. Johen sped into the temporary charging station we had prepared in advance, where Uli was already ready with a charging head in his hand, opened the charging port cover, waited for 20 seconds, clicked, the charging head was connected, and immediately charged at a speed of 270 kilowatts. I quickly slipped into the cockpit, adjusted my seats, and was ready to go. After about 11 minutes, the battery has magically reached 47% and it is ready to go. The driving mode is adjusted to "Normal" (use "Super Sport" mode when charging), drop the window, lock the door, and start!
The Taycan's start was simply unparalleled. There was a huge shallow puddle ahead, the steering wheel was shaking slightly, and suddenly I had left it behind. Now the speed has climbed to 180. Before I could react, a sharp bend was in front of me. It looks a bit hanging, but it can still hold. After a few laps, night fell as scheduled. I decided not to brake in the corners and to accelerate straight up the straights with a shake out of the bend. After about 10 laps I've been able to get the hang of it. "Your driving condition is good, everything is normal!" Uli comforted me at the other end of the walkie-talkie. It seems that the way I drive now is also relatively energy-efficient, and I still have 11% of the power after running 15 laps.
"Three more laps!" Instructions came over the intercom. After 17 laps, the charge was less than 5%, and the battery was almost out of place. I thought to myself not to break anchor on my first stage. I carefully drove through the last corner and was able to do it! Eventually 2% of the battery remained, and Meck fed the results into the computer, and I traveled a total of 104 kilometers this time. We still had to run another 2,700 kilometers, and it had been more than two hours, which didn't seem like enough time. Now it's Mec's turn to play. The guy from the Porsche Group News Office, who usually looks particularly stylish, seems to be a little nervous at this time. The charging truck is once again fast charging the Taycan at 270 kW. Pulling on the plug and slamming on the electric door, Meck drives the car into the darkness. A few of us were discussing strategies such as whether we should stop using the brakes and whether using lower speeds would significantly increase endurance. The root cause is that the wet and slippery road surface increases the resistance under the wheels.
"I've got to turn on the fan, there's no air conditioning, I can't see anything," Meck said over the intercom. Air conditioning is nothing less than an electric tiger for an electric car, and if you only turn on the fan, it is not too bad. From now on we will increase the pit stop frequency. Johen drove for 32 minutes before coming into the station, of course, only 86 kilometers. The rain is getting heavier and heavier, the wiper, the driving resistance, the warm wind – our power losses are getting higher and higher, so it will definitely fail! By 4 a.m., the atmosphere had fallen to the bottom. Johen even chose the wrong driving program and opened a stage in "Supersport" mode. The slippery tires caused by the water on the road area made it impossible for us to drive at full strength on the straights. I wanted to add more power, and when I charged to 51%, it showed that the battery temperature was 54 ° C, which was too high. We ended up reducing the speed, and in order to make the speed more constant, stage after stage, time was flowing quietly. Coffee, bread and delicious lunches are certainly indispensable during this time.
The first thing is to accumulate more miles, and everything seems to be getting smoother and smoother after all. Tiangong began to be beautiful, the rain gradually stopped, we have not needed to use wipers for a long time, which is a great help to reduce wind resistance! Three hours before the end, the figure of 3,000 kilometers seemed to be achievable again. We have to better allocate pit stop timing so that we can make the most of every watt of electricity.
In addition, we are able to drive at a faster speed, 200 per hour on the straights. I even got to 220 once and it was really enjoyable. The last stage was played by Meck, who had 55 percent of his battery enough to play for 43 minutes. Only to see him launch the final sprint, at 170 speed into the corner, the last lap he even cheered on the walkie-talkie! 3036 km! He told Uli the news through the lecture, and a new record was made! Exactly 24 hours, when the Taycan finally pitted into the station, there was only 1% of the power left, and we, hugged tightly together!
In the end, Meck counted that our challenge consumed a total of 1308.74 kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to 149 liters of super gasoline. Equivalent to 4.9 liters of oil per 100 kilometers, it is not bad for an average speed of 126.5 kilometers per hour. Charging takes a total of 4 hours and 48 minutes, but the number of charges is as high as 30. The Porsche Taycan worked hard and complained that there was no urine point the whole time, but we were tired and became dogs.