Porsche Taycan tests charging network on "Cannonball Run"
Taycan beats Tesla’s Cannonball Run
Over the past few years, as electric cars have moved to a focus on practicality, a sense of performance has taken the backseat. The EV industry now prioritizes charging capacity, usability and range.
However, there is still very much room for automotive capacity. Speed records are still of interest, horsepower is still fun — and “cannonball runs” are still impressive.
The challenge — to drive from New York to Los Angeles as quickly as possible, often with not-so-subtle modifications — has long been part of the automotive lexicon. And electric cars have been getting in on the action, with Tesla reigning supreme, notching a time of 45 hours, and 16 minutes.
That is, until a few weeks ago. A team of three drivers, led by regular cannonball-runner Kyle Conner, made the journey in a Porsche Taycan 4S, making the journey in just 44 hours and 25 minutes.
How they did it
It must be pointed out that while the speeds Conner reached were far beyond legal limits, his team didn’t modify the vehicle in any way. In fact, the chief purpose of the effort, according to InsideEVs, was to test America’s fast charging network.
Porsche claimed the Taycan 4S can charge at speeds of up to 270 kW — thus maximizing the potential of Electrify America’s DC Fast Charging Network. The record-setters found that such a claim wasn’t too close to the truth; software bugs prevented them from exceeding the 250kW — though they did touch 260 once.
Still, the Taycan performed admirably in often sub-par conditions. Temperatures sat at an average of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and plummeted to just 5 degrees at one point. Furthermore, the charging systems proved to be well set up for high performance driving.
The team calculated its charging sequences, driving until the Porsche hovered around the 3 percent battery level (in an admittedly risky move). They would then charge the vehicle to at least 60 percent in order to generate enough energy to carry out the next leg of the journey.
What they learned
In a sense, then, the Porsche reached its goal on two fronts. It smashed the previous Cannonball Run record by some 45 minutes — knocking out a record that had stood for a year (there had been 10 recorded attempts to best the Tesla’s mark). Furthermore, it did so without making any sort of modifications to the car.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the drivers proved that a transcontinental charging network is forming, and could well be tapped into — even while driving at breakneck speeds from New York to Los Angeles.
By: Tom Hindle
Borrow is an electric vehicle subscription company with one goal: to make driving an EV as simple and accessible as possible. Borrow is the only electric vehicle subscription service of its kind with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing the everyday drive.