At last an outlet like Top Gear arranges something that’s really fun to watch. It’s not just a Tesla Model S P100D vs. Porsche Taycan Turbo S quarter-mile drag race — it is a war for pride between two loyal fanbases — the Porsche vs. the Tesla community.
Some of Tesla’s fastest all-electric sedans recently faced down a powerful contender on an abandoned airport runway (turned into a drag strip). The contender? The feared Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Racers call it the F12B — a 730 hp beast fitted with a 6.3L V12 engine.
Despite Porsche’s recent ambitious claims to have engineered an electric vehicle with uniquely repeatable performance, Bjørn Nyland has just demonstrated that the already-on-sale Tesla Model 3 has long since been capable of repeatable performance.
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.
If you are a lover of all things auto, you should celebrate Tesla’s leadership on the Nürburgring track, and I am going to explain why I think this to be so.
In a video uploaded by TALEA Media, several high-performance vehicles are seen running laps on the Nürburgring, a 13-mile long German track, including both the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S P100D+.
Despite not surpassing some of its combustion peers over the full lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, a recently released onboard lap video shows that the Porsche Taycan has effectively outperformed its Panamera sibling (and the BMW M5 and M5 Competition) over the twisty first half of the course. This indicates that on the vast majority of the world’s race circuits, where mid-speed corners dominate over high speed straightaways, the Taycan will be able to lap faster than the Panamera and similar 4-door saloons, such as the BMW M5.
While the name 80DR might not sound too familiar yet, its aim, racing electric vehicles (EV) around the world in 80 days, is taking shape. In fact, it will go to the start line in Paris, France, in June 2020.
Recently, the Texas Motor Speedway decided to not allow electric vehicles to participate in their “Friday Night Drags” event. When asked by Teslarati why this was, the track’s spokesman said the track wasn’t prepared to deal with battery fires, should one occur. While this certainly is a plausible explanation, it seems that a vast majority of Tesla owners and other EV enthusiasts think it’s an excuse.
The Nissan LEAF certainly doesn’t have a reputation as a serious performance car. With far less power than any Tesla, “semi-independent” rear suspension like you’d find under a Chevy Cavalier, and many similarities with the Versa, the LEAF is widely regarded as an economy car, not a luxury or sports car. It certainly isn’t seen as a real competitor to a Tesla, even an older Model S.
