Porsche is leaning harder into theater with the Taycan. The company has added an ”E-Shift” system, a retrofit Manthey performance package for its electric models, and a new low-rolling-resistance summer tire option that can lift the Taycan’s WLTP range to 700 kilometers when paired with the Performance Battery Plus.
The headline act is the E-Shift setup, which will come standard on the Taycan Turbo GT and be optional elsewhere in the Taycan lineup. It uses steering-wheel paddles to simulate eight gears, complete with shift jerks, virtual engine-braking torque, a rev counter, and Porsche Electric Sport Sound tuned to imitate the climb of a combustion car through the ratios. In a segment where many EV makers are trying to make driving feel simpler, Porsche is doing the opposite: adding friction on purpose because some drivers apparently miss it.
How Porsche’s E-Shift works
The system is built around the GT sports steering wheel, where paddles let the driver move through eight simulated gears. Porsche says the point is an ”emotive driving experience,” which is a polished way of saying the Taycan should feel less like a silent appliance and more like a very expensive video game with consequences.
- Standard on Taycan Turbo GT
- Optional on the rest of the Taycan lineup
- Eight simulated gears via steering-wheel paddles
- Shift jerks, virtual rev counter, and simulated electric sport sound
Manthey kits and Nürburgring bragging rights
Porsche is also bringing Manthey performance kits to its electric models as a retrofit, with aerodynamic, chassis, and powertrain changes aimed at the Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach Package. The company says those upgrades recently helped driver Lars Kern set a Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time of 6:55.533 minutes in the electric executive category, a reminder that Porsche still likes its EVs to be judged with a stopwatch in hand.
A 700-kilometer Taycan range claim
The other practical update is the new low-rolling-resistance summer tire option for rear-wheel-drive models. Paired with the Performance Battery Plus, Porsche says it can push the Taycan’s WLTP range to 700 kilometers. That number matters because range is still the easiest EV headline to sell, even for a brand that would clearly prefer you talk about lap times and paddle shifters.
Expect Porsche to keep threading that needle: part efficiency, part performance, part old-school drama. The Taycan has always been one of the least apologetic EVs on the market, and these upgrades double down on that personality instead of sanding it off.