Jay Leno Gets Up Close and Personal with the 2020 Porsche Taycan

Porsche said they wanted the Taycan ‘to be perfect’, but Leno still questions why it’s called the Turbo S when there’s no turbo.

The Porsche Taycan officially landed back in December. Since then, there’s been a trickle of content about real-world test drives. Car And Driver recently compared the Porsche Taycan to the Tesla Model S. Other blogs have also gotten their hands on one too. In all these cases, the critics have found there’s a lot to like about the Taycan. Not the least of which is the range. It seems like Porsche was earnest when they said the Taycan could easily beat the EPA’s range estimate in real-world driving. But what about all the other important details?

Jay Leno recently took the 2020 Taycan out for spin to get a feel for the groundbreaking vehicle. Leno doesn’t really put the EV through an intense stress test. Instead, he asks Porsche spokesperson Calvin Kim tons of questions about the Taycan’s engineering. It’s an incredibly informative video chock full of insight into how a legacy company like Porsche developed their first EV.

Leno’s Test Drive

Jay Leno’s Garage normally features the comedian talking about the featured car before he takes it out for a spin. This time around, Leno and Kim drove around L.A. first before heading to Leno’s massive warehouse. The switch-up works just fine because Leno peppers the Porsche spokesperson with questions for a solid half-hour. Basically, Leno proves he’s still a great interviewer. He’s able to get a pretty solid answer from Kim about the Taycan’s relatively short range compared to rivals like Tesla. “It has to be perfect. It has to deliver that trouble-free experience that EV owners have kind of come to expect from their cars. And yeah, that came at the expense of a bit of range,” says Kim. For Porsche, the Taycan was designed to be a true performance vehicle. That means the battery had to withstand a fair amount of abuse, just like their internal combustion vehicles. That’s why range suffered a bit.

Porsche’s two-speed transmission also gets brought up by Leno. Unlike other EVs, the Taycan has a two-speed transmission. It’s a pretty cool engineering feat that separates it from other electric vehicles. “On our two-speed gearbox, the first gear is selected with a dog clutch like a racecar. And then the second gear is like an automated clutch. And that’s so that we can make the 1-2 shift as soft or as hard we need it to be,” says Kim. Porsche’s approach to the Taycan is novel and worthy of praise. Enthusiasts concerned about the future of automotive performance should take solace in what Porsche is doing. It’s a positive first step towards EVs that behave more like internal combustion vehicles. Just without any of the drawbacks.

Leno’s Take on the Taycan

Overall, Leno seems pretty pleased with what Porsche did with the Taycan. He really liked how the Taycan puts down its power and handles its weight. “Throttle and steering response are very nice and you know, it carries its weight very well,” says Leno. Kim points out that the Taycan has the lowest center of gravity of any Porsche ever. With his vast automotive experience, Leno recalls how the Corvette’s overhead cams compromised its center of gravity when it was raced. An EV like the Taycan will never have that problem.

Despite his positive experience with the Taycan, Leno couldn’t review the car without talking about his one major problem with the Porsche. “There’s no turbo in it. I mean I realize it’s a marketing term now. But I hate when engineering terms become marketing terms,” says Leno. It’s a fair point to make, especially considering the public’s unfamiliarity with electric powertrains. Although the term’s inaccuracy probably won’t matter once buyers step on the accelerator. The Taycan, like other EVs, is very fast. And people will most likely be able to comprehend that the turbo descriptor simply implies increased performance.

Checking out the Porsche

Leno and Kim continue discussing the Taycan once they arrive at the garage. And Kim gives viewers even more interesting tidbits about the Porsche. The Taycan is the fastest accelerating car that Porsche has ever made. And there’s a model that won’t feature a glass roof on the way. That makes us think a cheaper trim is currently under development. Considering the Taycan’s base price of just under $104k, a more basic trim could help Porsche better compete with the Tesla Model S, which starts at around $75k.

At 37 minutes, Leno’s Taycan video is on the long side. But the Taycan an immensely important vehicle for Porsche and Leno gets a lot of great answers out of Kim. Make sure to check out the video to discover how Porsche tackled their first EV.