Porsche Taycan gets virtual gearbox and wild body kit from Manthey

The Porsche Taycan has been around for six years now and while it remains one of the best-driving electric cars you can buy, Porsche is looking to make the model’s driving experience even more involving with virtual gearshifts and a special bodykit from racing team Manthey. 

There’s also a slight bump in range and infotainment updates, but the biggest change is the availability of the virtual gearshift system, called ‘E-Shift’ by Porsche. We’ve tried this technology in a number of cars already, including the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N - where it helps deliver a more engaging, connected driving dynamic.

Porsche’s system works in a similar manner to Hyundai’s with the ability to shift between regular automatic mode and manual, which uses eight virtual gears accessed via paddles behind the steering wheel. The set-up is an option on all Taycans, apart from the range-topping Turbo GT, where it’s standard. 

The gearshifts are designed to simulate a combustion engine’s gearbox with “noticeable gearshift jerks, gear-specific drag torque”, according to Porsche. As with the Ioniq 5 N, there’s even a virtual rev limiter. There are interior and exterior speakers as part of the ‘Porsche Electric Sport Sound’ to mimic the experience of a combustion-engine car. 

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Porsche says the augmented transmission’s mapping and sound characteristics are tailored to each model. The E-Shift system is activated by a new switch on the GT-sports steering wheel. 

Alongside the Taycan’s new virtual gearshift there’s also a revised infotainment with ‘Porsche Digital Interaction’. Essentially the electric Macan and Cayenne – both newer models than the Taycan – have shared their faster processing power, menu graphics, less cluttered layout and greater customisation options. Infotainment system updates can now be implemented completely over-the-air, too. 

The Taycan is one of the most resolved EVs you can drive, with typical Porsche-like dynamics, and for the range-topping 1,020bhp dual-motor Turbo GT with Weissach Package model there’s now a Manthey Kit. This is only available on left-hand drive models, but it adds aero extensions on the front bumper, winglets behind the front wheels, venting on the front wings, aero disc covers on the back wheels, a large rear diffuser and a massive fixed wing above it.

Thanks to new, low-resistance tyres on rear-wheel drive Taycan models, the maximum range has increased from 421 miles to 434 miles. 

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