author: Eric Walz

Three years ago, Porsche debuted its Mission E concept, the first electric car to challenge Elon Musk's Tesla Model S. Today that the Mission E concept has a new name as it moves closer to production. Porsche revealed its new electric sedan will be called the Taycan, pronounced "tie-con."

Porsche Chairman Oliver Blume made the announcement during the "70 years of Porsche Sports Cars" ceremony celebrating the company's heritage. Porsche will begin production of the Taycan later this year. The electric sports car is expected to go on sale at the end of 2019 and might become a benchmark for all other luxury electric cars.

Taycan translates roughly to "lively young horse," referencing the leaping steed in the Porsche crest. Explaining the new moniker, Porsche Chairman Oliver Blume said in a statement, "Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it's a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomizes freedom."

The Misson E concept is now the Porsche Taycan

Taycan's electric powertrain using two motors will make 600 horsepower, propelling the car to 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 3.5 seconds and up to 124 mph on the track in less than 12 seconds, the company said. The car's top speed will be 155 miles an hour.

Porsche promises a "level of continuous power that is unmatched by any other electric vehicle." According to Porsche, other electric cars cannot handle repeated hard acceleration because their batteries will overheat. The Taycan's battery will be able to travel 300 miles on a single charge based on measurements from the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).

Porsche first revealed the Mission E concept in 2015 at the International Auto Show in Frankfurt. The automaker hasn't announced official pricing yet. Although Chairman Oliver Blume told CAR last year that the vehicle will be priced like an entry-level Panamera—which is $85,000.

Porsche plans to invest more than 6 billion euros ($7 billion) in electric vehicle technology by 2022, doubling the investment that the company had originally planned.

With a price tag close to that of the Tesla Model S, Porsche's new car might be the first competition for Tesla in the luxury electric vehicle space. Up until now, the Model S has been without any direct competition since its debut in 2012, although that is changing.

New electric vehicle startups including SF Motors, Lucid Motors, Fisker and others are planning to release their own luxury electric models. However, none of these companies have the brand recognition and storied history that Porsche has.