The Porsche Taycan is an expanding family with confirmation that there are plans for a cheaper two-wheel drive option. 

The Taycan was originally launched as a four-door sports saloon in 2019 carrying the Turbo badging and in two different versions - Turbo S and Turbo. This was then followed by the Taycan 4S, dropping the Turbo name, but still offering all-wheel drive. This latter model was announced a few months after the initial launch.

Having a two-wheel drive only model might not sound so bad, but the aim here is to bring the price down to make the Taycan more accessible to more customers. It's not only losing that all-wheel drive, but also getting a smaller battery to keep the price in check. There's no word on what it might be called, but we're wondering if Taycan 2S might be considered.

According to Porsche R&D chief Dr Michael Steiner - talking to Car Magazine - the Taycan 2WD will be a rear-wheel drive model (of course) and likely to launch first in China, where "weather conditions" mean you don't need all-wheel drive. 

That's going to impact on performance, but for your typical executive looking for a premium electric car to run to the office, the out-and-out performance probably isn't the most important thing.

The cheaper Porsche Taycan is expected to appear in the UK in 2021, but there's no word on what it might cost. Car Magazine suggests that it will be around £77,000, which would bring it in under the price for the current entry-level Tesla Model S.

While that Tesla has dual motors, all-wheel drive and blistering performance, a rear-wheel drive Taycan might be popular with Porsche owners: it could be lighter thanks to the smaller battery and Porsche and rear-wheel drive go hand-in-hand. The real question is: how much performance will be left to play with?