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Porsche’s all-electric Taycan is finally here, but what’s next?

The Porsche Taycan, the German automaker’s first production electric car, is finally here, but that’s not the end of the story. Porsche only showed the Turbo and Turbo S variants, while confirming that there are more on the way. From the 911 to the Cayenne, Porsche has a knack for developing seemingly endless variations of a handful of vehicles. So what does Porsche have in store for the Taycan?

The best analog for the Taycan’s family tree will be the Panamera, reports Autoblog, citing a conversation with a Porsche representative at the Taycan (pronounced “tie-con”) reveal event. The Taycan lineup won’t be an exact mirror of the Panamera — there is no need for a Taycan E-Hybrid, for example — but it may get many of the same variants as Porsche’s other four-door, according to Autoblog.

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In a press release detailing the Taycan, Porsche said it would introduce “less-powerful variants” over the coming months, while retaining the all-wheel drive of the Turbo and Turbo S. So a Taycan 4 or Taycan 4S makes sense. It’s also possible that Porsche will add a Taycan GTS as a mid-level model. Porsche has offered a GTS variant of every model in its current lineup at one point or another. It doesn’t currently have GTS versions of the Cayenne or Macan, but it has offered them in the past and may do so again in the future.

In 2017, Automobile reported that the Taycan would be sold in three strengths: 400 horsepower, 536 hp, and 670 hp. That report didn’t predict the 750-hp Turbo S, but it did get the 670-hp output of the Taycan Turbo right. The report also said Porsche might consider a rear-wheel drive Taycan, but the automaker hasn’t dropped any hints about that yet.

The less-powerful Taycan variants should also be less expensive than the Turbo and Turbo S, but how much less remains to be seen. There is a $65,800 spread between a base Panamera and a Panamera Turbo (the most expensive non-hybrid model), which should equate to a price of around $90,000 for a base Taycan, noted Autoblog. But Porsche North American CEO Klaus Zellmer also told the website that the Taycan platform was very expensive to develop, indicating it may only be used for high-end models.

So far we’ve only discussed the Taycan four-door sedan, but there is another body style in the works. Porsche confirmed that it will launch a production version of the Cross Turismo wagon concept at the end of 2020. Porsche already offers a Sport Turismo wagon version of the Panamera but, if it holds true to the original concept car, the Taycan Cross Turismo will feature more rugged styling in the vein of a Subaru Outback or Audi Allroad. That could help generate more sales in the United States, where the Panamera Sport Turismo is a niche model due to buyers’ disinterest in wagons.

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Business upfront, 31-inch TV in the back. BMW’s electric i7 is a screening room on wheels
Front three quarter view of the 2023 BMW i7.

The BMW 7 Series has been the venerable German automaker’s flagship for more than 40 years, but with its latest redesign, BMW is taking things in a new — and electrifying — direction.
The 2023 BMW i7 xDrive60 (or i7 for short) is the first all-electric 7 Series in the model’s history. It’s positioned against electric luxury sedans like the Lucid Air, Tesla Model S, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan, a longtime BMW rival. But BMW took a different approach with its electric chariot of the affluent.
Because while those other EVs are based on clean-sheet designs, the i7 is just one version of a car that continues with combustion engines. It shares styling and tech — including an available fold-down, rear-seat widescreen monitor — with internal-combustion 7 Series models. So it offers a more traditional approach to luxury for EV buyers who don’t want to change anything about their cars except the method of propulsion.
Those buyers will also pay a slight premium. The i7 starts at $120,295, compared to $114,595 for the 760i xDrive, the first gasoline 7 Series model of the new generation. BMW also plans to offer a less expensive gasoline 740i for $94,295 sometime after launch. But when you’re spending this much on a new car, those aren’t huge differences.

Design and interior
The new 7 Series — and by extension the i7 — is sure to prove controversial due to BMW’s new front-end styling, which combines a massive grille sure to stoke internet memes and odd-looking two-tiered headlights. The effect is exaggerated by an available blacked-out front-end treatment, which makes it look like parts are missing.
Those styling elements carry over from gasoline 7 Series models to the i7, as does the hulk-like body shell, which is abnormally tall for a sedan, requiring steps at the hood and rear bumper to blend them with the thick center section of the body. The i7 also retains a long protruding hood, which is necessary to house the engine in gasoline 7 Series models, but is just an affectation here.
BMW claims the i7 will appeal to buyers who want a traditional luxury sedan first and an EV second. To be fair, the i7 is much more conventional-looking than the streamlined Mercedes-Benz EQS sedan and Lucid Air, or the grille-less Tesla Model S. But some of that work has been undone by BMW’s unorthodox design choices in other areas, which may not appeal to traditionalists either.
The i7 is sure to prove controversial due to BMW's new front-end styling.

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GMC poured all of its truck-making expertise into the Sierra EV pickup
A 2024 GMC Sierra EV towing an Airstream trailer.

The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks are twins, and that will continue to be the case when they go electric.
Chevy unveiled its Silverado EV at CES 2022, and now it’s GMC’s turn. The 2024 GMC Sierra EV borrows some key features from its Chevy sibling, as well GMC’s first electric truck — the Hummer EV. Some of those features were actually pioneered by General Motors two decades ago on non-electric trucks, and are now making a comeback.
You can reserve a Sierra EV now, but deliveries aren’t scheduled to start until early calendar-year 2024. Production starts with a high-end Denali Edition 1 model, with other versions arriving for the 2025 model year.

Design
The Sierra EV updates the design language of the internal-combustion GMC Sierra for the electric age. A big grille is no longer needed for cooling, but it’s still an important styling element that designers didn’t want to break away from, Sharon Gauci, GMC executive director of global design, explained to Digital Trends and other media in an online briefing ahead of the truck’s reveal. The grille shape is now outlined in lights, with an illuminated GMC logo.
Like the Hummer EV and Silverado EV, the Sierra EV uses GM’s Ultium modular battery architecture which, among other things, means the battery pack is an integral part of the structure. So unlike most other trucks — including the rival Ford F-150 Lightning — the Sierra EV doesn’t have a separate frame. The cab and bed are one piece as well, all of which helps increase structural rigidity.
The Sierra EV also borrows the Midgate setup from the Silverado EV. First seen on the Chevy Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT in the early 2000s, it allows the bulkhead and glass behind the cab to be removed, effectively extending the bed. Combined with the fold-out MultiPro tailgate from the internal-combustion Sierra, it can expand the default 5.0-foot, 11-inch bed length to 10 feet, 10 inches. A frunk (GMC calls it the “eTrunk”) provides covered storage space as well.
Because it’s pitched as a premium vehicle, the Sierra EV gets upscale interior materials like open-pore wood trim and stainless steel speaker grilles for its Bose audio system. But the design itself, with a freestanding portrait touchscreen and rectangular instrument cluster, looks suspiciously similar to the Ford Mustang Mach-E cabin. The touchscreen even has the same big volume knob as the Ford. We hope GMC’s lawyers are ready.

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Check out Spectre, Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car
Rolls-Royce's Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.

Rolls-Royce Introduces Spectre: The World's First Ultra-Luxury Electric Super Coupé

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has taken the wraps off the Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.

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