Porsche Taycan Turbo GT review
This staggeringly powerful performance car accelerates into a new dimension.
Is this how astronauts felt on the first Apollo missions?
Strapped into the fastest-accelerating car ever sold to the public, Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT is like a space shuttle on the launch pad. Twisting the driver mode dial on the steering wheel all the way to the right, we lock in “attack mode” to generate maximum power – a staggering 815kW of maximum thrust.
That’s eleven hundred horsepower. In a polished luxury sedan you can drive to work.
A final systems check shows all is well. I can see the track ahead is clear, and hear a calm voice in my helmet’s earpieces confirming we are go for launch.
Sweaty palms protected by fireproof gloves grip the velvet fuzz of the steering wheel as my left boot holds down the brake, my right foot floors the throttle, and my right thumb pushes a boost button on the steering wheel.
What happens next is other-worldly.
Fat Pirellis bite into the tarmac like a sprinter’s spiked shoes, launching the $450,000 sedan out of the blocks with real ferocity.
There’s an initial kick up the pants before it feels as though a giant is sitting on your chest, squeezing you into the seat as the electric sedan explodes for the horizon.
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Your stomach drops as though you’ve just fallen out of a tree.
Or realised you forgot to pick up the kids from school.
It’s genuinely sickening.
A distant synthesised whirr plays through the speakers as it streaks beyond 100km/h just 2.3 seconds after launch.
That’s not just quick – it’s the quickest. No standard car can match the Taycan Turbo GT’s straight-line thrust.
Not one.
America’s Car and Driver magazine recently strapped their timing gear to a Turbo GT and recorded a 0-60mph (96.5km/h) time of 1.898 seconds, which is faster than any Bugatti, Ferrari, Lambo or Tesla. Ever.
Porsche claims the quarter mile can be dispatched in 9.5 seconds.
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The downside is you won’t get many chances to use that power.
Australian drag racing rules require cars that exceed 140mph (225km/h) or run sub-10-second times in the quarter mile to be equipped with a purpose-built racing seat, a six-point roll cage and an emergency parachute.
You might only get one run before being sent home forever.
And Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway will turn you away at the gate, having banned electric cars from running on the strip.
Obviously this sort of performance must be used very carefully on public roads.
It’s supremely quiet and comfortable on the highway, offering little clue as to the ultimate performance of its dual electric motors. Competent without being truly engaging in the bends, the ultimate Taycan won’t let you scratch the surface of its potential without breaking the law, and the silent motors mean there is little in the way of traditional fizz to keep you smiling.
And it’s not really a track car.
The 2.3 tonne Taycan goes like a rocket, but needs plenty of room to stop.
It’s nothing like as agile – or engaging – as a traditional sports car on track, with little of the feel and feedback of Porsche’s finest efforts.
I can close my eyes and remember myriad details from a drive in a screaming 911 GT3 years ago, but have largely forgotten how the Taycan turned last week.
Porsches are normally rock-solid on track, but we had three software glitches on circuit that required the car to be temporarily parked for system resets.
No, the issues weren’t terminal.
But you might want to bring diagnostic tools and an experienced Porsche technician along for the ride at track days.
Then again, you wouldn’t expect to launch a lunar mission without a support crew.
Like NASA itself, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is an expensive and impressive technical achievement that opens the door to a new world of technology.
Even if it is of minimal real-world relevance to you or I.
VERDICT
Four stars
Australia’s quickest car is an unquestionably rapid triumph of technology.
PORSCHE TAYCAN TURBO GT
PRICE: About $450,000 drive-away
MOTOR: Electric dual-motors, 815kW/1340Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICE: 3-yr/unlimited km
SAFETY: Eight airbags, auto emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, blind-spot warning, attention assist and speed assist
RANGE: About 500km
BOOT: 407 litres
SPARE: Repair kit
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