An Electric Porsche, a Tesla Probe, and More Car News This Week
Porsche’s battery-powered Taycan can go 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds and features a two-speed gearbox that’s the first of its kind.
It finally happened! This week, in simultaneous events on three continents, Porsche unveiled the Taycan, its battery-powered, zero-emission sport sedan. Its base model, the Turbo, and its performance model, the Turbo S, have ranges of approximately 279 miles and 256 miles, respectively, and the S can hit 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds. The Taycan also looks very nice. Read all about the car, and about how its first-of-its-kind two-speed gearbox will help it move faster, right here.
Sure, other things happened this week, too. The National Transportation Safety Board wrapped up its nearly two-year-long investigation of a Tesla Autopilot-involved crash in California, and found that the design of the semiautonomous feature was one “probable cause” of the crash. And Google is coming to a GM screen near you. It’s been a week; let’s get you caught up.
Headlines
Stories you might have missed from WIRED this week
- Get super pumped to check out this week’s edition of WIRED’s Gadget Lab podcast, where New York Times reporter Mike Isaac discusses his juicy new book about the rise and (mostly) fall of Uber.
- Legendary Italian design house Pininfarina—which mostly focuses on cars—has a new take on a train, and it’s pretty.
- The car infotainment wars continue as Google hooks up with General Motors.
- The NTSB says the design of Tesla Autopilot is partly to blame for a 2018 incident in which a Model S smashed into the back of a fire truck—though the Autopilot tech has since been updated.
- Get your all-new, all-electric Porsche Taycan stats right here.
- Why you should care about the Taycan’s two-speed gearbox.
- From WIRED Opinion: Your kid probably isn’t riding in an electric school bus yet, but why she might be soon.
- A DOJ antitrust lawsuit uncovers the tumultuous world of airline booking software.
- How a Bugatti Chiron hit 304.773 mph.
- London officials attempt to save the city’s cyclists from skyscraper-created wind tunnels.
- Why this huge electric dump truck never needs to be charged.
Hurricane Hack of the Week
One half of a Florida couple battening down for Hurricane Dorian did not think they would be able to fit their Smart car into their kitchen, to protect it as the storm passed. The other half did. They made a bet. Guess who won? Quoth the loser: “It’s not in the way but my dogs are confused by it.”
Stat of the Week
12
The number of bicycles in the bike-share program in the small fishing village of Skrova, Norway—what Fast Company calls the smallest bike-share program in the world. (NYC’s program, by contrast, has at least 12,000 bikes.) Just 200 people live in the remote village, north of the Arctic Circle. Like many other places, Skrova hopes the system will help reduce car use, especially among tourists who travel to enjoy its trails and beaches.
Required Reading
News from elsewhere on the internet
The Department of Justice launches an antitrust probe into the four automakers that have agreed to abide by California’s emissions regulations rather than the Feds’.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Transportation and the EPA are working to revoke California’s ability to set its own fuel-economy and emissions rules.
Almost all new vehicles sold by 2025 will include tech that aims to prevent child hot-car deaths.
Ford-owned scooter company Spin welcomes its chargers to unionize in San Francisco—even though it doesn’t yet have a permit to operate in the city.
A Nobel Prize-winning economist goes to Burning Man to learn about the future of cities.
World’s! Fastest! AV!
In the Rearview
Essential stories from WIRED’s canon
The US Air Force said this week that it wouldn’t retire its fleet of A-10 Warthogs. Back in 2015, our writer got real prescient and applauded the decision.
More Great WIRED Stories
- What is Wi-Fi 6, and when will I get it?
- The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will freak out you and your kids in all the best ways
- One scientist's quest to bring DNA sequencing to every sick kid
- Your options for repairing a broken Apple device just got a lot better
- Photo Gallery: Luxembourg's bold plan to mine asteroids for rare minerals
- 👁 Facial recognition is suddenly everywhere. Should you worry? Plus, read the latest news on artificial intelligence
- 🎧 Things not sounding right? Check out our favorite wireless headphones, soundbars, and bluetooth speakers
