Which electric sports car was the first production car to use a two-speed gearbox?

The Porsche Taycan was the first production electric car to use a two-speed gearbox on its rear axle.

Porsche introduced the Taycan in 2019 as a high-performance four-door battery-electric sports sedan. Its rear electric motor uses two gears: a shorter first gear helps launch the car, while a taller second gear supports efficiency and high-speed performance. The front motor in all-wheel-drive versions uses a single-speed reduction gear.

Most electric cars use one fixed reduction gear because electric motors provide strong torque across a wide speed range. Porsche used two ratios to balance acceleration with sustained high-speed driving, reflecting the Taycan’s sports-car engineering priorities.

The Taycan is related to the Audi e-tron GT through the Volkswagen Group’s J1 electric platform, but the two models are separately engineered and branded. The Taycan name combines the Turkish words for lively young horse.