Photo credit: Manuel Carrillo / EV Pulse
It’s no secret that we’re in love with Porsche’s newest family member, the all-electric Taycan. It’s an incredible electric machine, and still manages to be the Porsche that you want it to be. It drives great. It looks great. It is great. But you know what would make it even better? A smaller, lighter platform and a lower price tag. According to a recent report from Autocar, that’s exactly what Porsche is currently working on. Based on VAG’s Premium Platform Electric architecture — which will underpin the A6 e-tron (pictured below), the A4 e-tron, and the all-electric next-gen Macan — Porsche will build a baby Taycan. Remember when the Macan was in the works, and people called it the CayJun, as in Cayenne Junior? Well, for the purposes of symmetry, I’m going to refer to this smaller electric sedan as the TayJun. You know, for funsies.
Photo credit: Audi
It’s important to note that this mid-sized sedan class is already a hot one in the electric space. First, there’s the leader in the class, Tesla’s Model 3. But competitors in the form of the Polestar 2 and BMW’s upcoming i4 will give this segment some stiff competition. Allegedly the A4 e-tron will be sold in single-motor RWD and dual-motor AWD configurations, with the range topping RS4 e-tron pushing out around 470 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. I would guess Porsche will stick to the higher end of the power spectrum in the TayJun, though an entry-level RWD version may still be possible to mirror the current Taycan lineup.
As the current e-tron sedan is based heavily on the Taycan platform — but features Audi-specific suspension and motor tuning, interior equipment, and exterior design — it would align pretty well for Porsche to do something similar with the A4 e-tron platform, building it to Stuttgart’s own specifications. Personally, I’d love to see the Porsche version be more of an A5-style 2+2 coupe, as I’m not sure a second sedan is what the Porsche lineup really needs, but then again there’s a reason I’m not a product planner for a major automaker. In any case, if this TayJun is even close to the level of fun that can be found in a Taycan, I’ll be in line to buy one as soon as it hits the market. The A4 e-tron is slated to hit the market in 2023, so if this rumor is true, expect a Porsche version shortly thereafter.