To say our interest is piqued by the Porsche Taycan is an understatement. By the numbers the Taycan seems pretty exceptional; more than 600 horsepower, more than 500 kilometers of range, and a sub-3.5 second 0-60 sprint are all cause to be excited. The black-clad pre-production cars just don’t make the Taycan look as magical as the original Mission E prototype, and sadly this video doesn’t give us a snazzy sneak-peak. Drone manufacturer DJI is giving us one last good hard look at the original Mission E prototype in motion alongside a 550 Spyder with their new Mavic 2 drones.
While many outlets are labeling the car in the video as the Taycan, the featured car appears to be the original Mission E concept [Ed. Note: The production Taycan has not yet been shown]. The car in the video features pillarless suicide rear doors, outrageous wheels, and a radically low greenhouse. It’s apparent that this is not the car coming to dealers. That said, it’s exciting to see it in motion.
Droning On and On
For those who don’t know, I also review cameras and write about photography. Gear geekery is near and dear to me, and modern drones are nothing short of astonishing. DJI has relaunched the Mavic Pro, and the new Pro 2 was made in conjunction with legendary camera manufacturer Hasselblad. The Swedish brand is best was responsible for the lens, sensor, and stabilization suite on the Mavic 2 Pro.
The Mavic 2 Pro packs a 1″ sensor with a 10-bit Dlog-M color profile, a significant upgrade over the original Mavic Pro. Though sized more like a high-end compact camera than a DSLR, the 1″ sensor is very large by drone standards. The sensor captures still photos at 20 megapixels and is capable of capturing 4k video. The lens aperture is adjustable between f/2.8 and f/11, and the system offers 4k 10-bit HDR support.
DJI also launched a new enthusiast model, the Mavic 2 Zoom, a more affordable model with a 12-megapixel sensor. The Zoom features both a digital and an optical zoom, the latter is an industry first. The zoom functions operate in conjunction with a simulated Dolly Zoom mode and an active tracking mode for more dynamic shots.
From the video, the drone footage looks astonishingly good. In the interest of fair assessment though, I think we need to get our hands on both a Taycan and a Mavic 2 Pro, just to be sure both are all we hope they are.