The first Porsche Taycan drag race has been recorded, and with none other than its main arch rival — the Tesla Model S. German TV channel VOX runs a car enthusiast program named “Auto Mobil.” The recent episode that aired on this Sunday featured the drag race and a handling test comparison of both cars.
The Porsche Taycan offers much higher performance “bang for the buck” compared to its gas-powered Panamera sedan sibling. This applies across the board — the new Taycan 4s variant provides faster acceleration than the Panamera GTS whilst being 20% less expensive, and the Turbo and Turbo S variants significantly outperform their more expensive Panamera siblings. Surely some mistake by Porsche?
Porsche earns points for style and making its grand entry into the EV world amongst an impressive backdrop. The goal of the day, and the time since that day, was to find out what the Taycan is built for and what the Porsche mission is with it. Gas and diesel vehicles still have a place in the product line, including hybrid models, so is the Taycan seen by Porsche as a corner jewel in the case or as a foundational stone for an eventual 100% electric Porsche lineup?
Some big news this week is that Boeing and Porsche have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to look into the “premium” electric vertical takeoff & landing (eVTOL) aircraft market. Porsche says it wants to design a premium eVTOL aircraft and Boeing has aerodynamic expertise — hence the connection. The news introduces a few key turning points with both automakers and aviation. Both of these companies are established players and are feeling the media heat from aviation and road vehicle startups. I’m excited because I’ve been waiting for the convergence of road and air for the past three years.
Porsche has just announced a new Taycan variant named the “Taycan 4S.” The German automaker is making the model a bit more affordable and perhaps aims to give a tougher time to Tesla Model S sales now that Porsche Taycan production is in full swing at the company’s purpose-built Zuffenhausen factory.
Whilst seemingly irrelevant to everyday driving, the ongoing competition between Tesla and Porsche over EV performance supremacy is quickly demonstrating that fossil sports cars are becoming obsolete — an important symbolic milestone for the EV revolution which will have repercussions in higher volume segments. If Porsche wants its Taycan to keep pace with the Tesla Model S Plaid, Porsche will have to allow it to outperform the company’s current flagship Panamera combustion sedan. And that will only highlight the inferiority of fossil vehicles.
A Tesla Model S prototype currently testing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife has been informally timed lapping the circuit in 7:23. The stopwatch timing was made by a correspondent of the German publication Auto Motor und Sport. The Tesla did have have the advantage of using race compound tires, but that doesn’t account for the almost 20 second advantage over the Porsche Taycan’s publicized lap time (7:42). The Tesla also looks to have the potential to surpass the track performance of every gasoline saloon, save limited production specials from Jaguar and BMW.
After the unveiling of the new Porsche Taycan yesterday, analysts were quick to call the only electric competitor (the Tesla Model S) “ancient in comparison,” pointing out the “pathbreaking” 800 volt system that “slashes recharging times.” It is true that a higher system voltage can reduce charging times: you can feed more power to the battery without increasing the charge current. But just how good is Porsche’s implementation?
The hot new Porsche Taycan is not a Tesla killer. As soon as it launched, or beforehand, many started comparing it to the Tesla Model S and debates online about which car was better ensued.
A recent survey by Autolist finds more people prefer the Tesla Model S over the new Porsche Taycan, largely because of the Tesla Supercharger network.
