Here's how the 2020 Porsche Taikan will be built

The Taycan is Porsche's first production electric car, and while the basic technology may differ from previous Porsche models, the Taycan is assembled in a factory just like any other car.

A detailed look at the Taycan assembly line in Zuffenhausen, Germany (almost 30 minutes of raw footage) shows that the Taycan is assembled in much the same way as existing gasoline-powered Porsche cars, although some processes are different.

As with gasoline cars, components are assembled into subassemblies and then added to the chassis as it moves down the assembly line. However, instead of a flat-4, flat-6, or V8 engine, workers deal with an electric motor and battery pack. This means a reduction in the total number of parts, but an additional high-voltage wiring process.

The mechanical parts - in this case the electric motor, battery pack, charging unit, and suspension - are connected to the body about halfway through the assembly process. This is very similar to how Porsche's parent company, Volkswagen, assembles cars on the MQB platform, suggesting that the manufacturing efficiencies of modular platforms such as MQB will carry over to electric vehicles as well.

Other processes are largely indistinguishable from the assembly process of a gasoline car: the Taycan's body is painted by a robot and inspected by a human. The dashboard and seats are installed. The powertrain is tested on a dynamometer.

Porsche currently produces three variants of the Taycan: the 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S. The 4S model, which is priced at $105,150, is the most expensive. Given Porsche's traditional product lineup, it is likely that a cheaper model will be added below the 4S model in the future.

Also, traditionally, the Turbo S is faster than the Turbo and 4S. According to Porsche, the top-of-the-line model produces 750 hp and 774 lb-ft of torque and is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds with launch control.

The Turbo and Turbo S (as well as the long-range 4S version) use the same 93.4 kWh battery pack, but the Turbo has a range advantage: according to the EPA, the Turbo has a range of 201 miles, while the Turbo S has a range of 192 miles. The EPA has not yet evaluated the 4S model.

Taikan is sharing its platform with at least two more electric cars. These will be production versions of the Audi E-Tron GT and the Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo concept. Porsche has also said it will introduce an electric version of the Macan.