- Porsche’s new E-Shift gives the Taycan eight simulated gears, fake shift jolts and a virtual rev limiter.
- The system is about driver involvement, not speed; it deliberately makes acceleration less seamless.
- The Taycan already has a real two-speed rear gearbox, but E-Shift appears to be a separate software layer.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N appears to have settled an uncomfortable truth about sporty EVs: As impressive as seamless face-distorting acceleration is, it isn’t enough. Its simulated gears and synthetic engine note showed that even the quickest electric performance cars can benefit from a bit of theater. BMW, Mercedes-AMG, and even Ferrari have already moved toward similar ideas, and we were waiting for Porsche to make its move after it previously said it wasn’t interested.
Now it has added what it calls “E-Shift” to the Taycan as part of a 2027-model-year update. It’s an optional system that adds eight simulated gears complete with a synthesized engine note and rev limiter. Steering wheel paddles allow you to go up and down through the gears, and a distinctly Porsche-esque crescendo builds with acceleration.
It’s a reversal for the Stuttgart-based sports-car maker. Not too long ago, the company line was that fake shifting made EVs worse. Now it’s implementing exactly that in the Taycan. Who would have thought Porsche would have been influenced by something Hyundai did?
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Source: Porsche
Based purely on the sound sample Porsche provided with the press release, it sounds closer to a four-cylinder engine from the 718 than a six-cylinder. But it may vary by model variant. Porsche notes that “the transmission mapping and sound characteristics are tailored to each model, giving each variant its own acoustic and driving profile.”
The car adjusts the sound and the strength of the acceleration to try to mimic the power delivery of a real combustion engine. It doesn’t vibrate your seat with simulated overrun crackle like the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door EV, but through the sound it makes and the way Porsche has set it up, it definitely aims to give the driver more sensory reference points than a normal EV provides.
Porsche explains that “the gear changes are simulated realistically: noticeable gear-shift jerks, gear-specific drag torque—comparable to the engine-braking behavior of a combustion-engined car—and a virtual rev limiter ensure authentic feedback. At the same time, the interior and exterior sound of the Porsche Electric Sport Sound adapts to the respective driving situation depending on load and ‘engine’ speed.”
To get simulated shifts in the new Taycan, you need to specify the Sport Chrono Package, the Porsche Electric Sport Sound, and one of the two optional sound systems. It comes as standard on the range-topping Taycan Turbo GT, which now gets more power with the Manthey kit that helped it regain the Nurburgring EV lap record.
As with all such systems, the car is a bit slower with it enabled because it also simulates the power pause of gear shifts. It accelerates, you pull the paddle to shift up as you approach the redline (which you can see in the Taycan because it also has a tachometer in manual mode), the acceleration stops for an instant then the surge resumes until it’s time to shift again. So if you really want to extract the car’s full performance, keep the engine simulation off.
2027 Taycans also gain an NACS charging port for DC fast charging, plus redesigned infotainment software. (The secondary J1772 port for Level 2 charging remains unchanged.) And the larger 105 kilowatt-hour battery pack is now standard across the lineup. Charging maxes out at a breezy 320 kilowatts thanks to the Taycan’s 800-volt setup.