The Porsche Taycan was the first EV to feature a two-speed gearboc. But now the German sports carmaker wants to reinvogarate the driving joy by adding fake gears, a feature that debuted on the Ioniq 5 N and which is also investigated by Toyota. The appeal for electric sports cars seems to reside in old-fashioned tech in a modern guise. But there’s a drawback.
Porsche calls it ‘E-Shift’: eight simulated gears, paddle shifters, a virtual rev limiter, and even ‘gear-specific drag torque’ to mimic the engine braking of a combustion car.
What Porsche will not put in the press release is the simpler truth: this software update might enhance the feeling of driving pleasure but also makes the car slower, less efficient, and less responsive than it actually is. And they are charging extra for it.
Theater of speed
For the 2027 model year, every Taycan can be fitted with what Porsche describes as an “experience for all the senses.” Activate E-Shift and the car momentarily cuts motor power during upshifts to replicate the pause of a dual-clutch transmission.
The Porsche Electric Sport Sound has been reinterpreted too, and rises and falls with each ‘gear.’ It sits closer now to a combustion engine than the science fiction whine of earlier Taycans.
A digital tachometer appears in the instrument cluster, complete with a redline you can bounce off if you forget to pull the paddle. The system is “modeled to feel as authentic as possible,” according to Porsche.
But authentic to what, exactly? The Taycan already has a genuine two-speed rear transmission – a rare engineering solution that lets it optimize both brutal acceleration and high-speed efficiency. Adding eight imaginary ratios on top of that is rather solving a psycoholigical than a mechanical problem.
A reversal worth noting
Only a few years ago, Porsche executives were openly dismissive of this kind of gimmickry. The company line was that the electric motor was simply “better than an ICE” and that simulating gears in an EV was pointless. Zuffenhausen referred to its combustion-engined models for such a driving experience.
Then Hyundai happened. The Ioniq 5 N’s e-Shift system, which replicates an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with unsettling conviction, appears to have settled an uncomfortable truth about sporty EVs.
Seamless, face-distorting acceleration is technically impressive, but for many drivers, it is emotionally flat. It convinced Porsche, too. Vice-President Frank Moser: “They made it really, really good.”
Performance penalty
The irony is that Porsche is not even pretending this makes the car objectively better. The physics are there: each ‘upshift’ introduces a deliberate power interruption, which makes the car slower. You pay extra for a less efficient car.
E-Shift is not a standalone option either. To get the fake gears, you must already have specified the Sport Chrono Package, Porsche Electric Sport Sound, and one of the two optional sound systems. It comes standard only on the Taycan Turbo GT.
But the gear feature is joined by more meaningful improvements. The previously optional 105 kWh Performance Battery Plus is now standard across the range, replacing the 89 kWh pack. This gives all variants access to up to 320 kW DC fast charging on 800-volt infrastructure, cutting 10-80% charge times to as little as 18 minutes.
Others jump the bandwagon
There is also a substantial infotainment overhaul. The new Porsche Digital Interaction system – already seen on the Macan and Cayenne EVs – brings five times the computing power, proper over-the-air update capability, an AI voice assistant that does not require repeating “Hey Porsche” every five seconds, and a 3D vehicle model rendered in your car’s actual colour. For the Turbo GT, the Manthey racing kit that recently reclaimed the Nurburgring EV lap record can now be ordered directly from the factory.
Porsche is not alone in this retreat toward artificial combustion cues. Mercedes-AMG’s electric GT pumps synthetic V8 noise through speakers and even vibrates the seat with simulated overrun crackle.
BMW and Ferrari are experimenting with similar theatrics. Toyota has even patetented a gimmick that feels like the e-motor shuts down when the driver misjudges the clutch.
The industry has decided that silent, seamless acceleration is a sales obstacle it must overcome. Nostalgia or innovation? That’s the question.
