Porsche has been building up expectations for its grand electric car ever since the Mission E was first teased. Now in its final form, however, the redubbed Taycan looks pretty amazing, with stats that sound likely to make it a serious Tesla competitor. And now, the drag strip-focused YouTube channel Drag Times has gotten its hands on a Taycan Turbo S to finally put some questions to rest. Let's see how the Taycan performs flat-out at the strip.
Instantaneous Torque
Of course, Porsche has big shoes to fill given that the company has emerged pretty late in the EV game, a full four models behind Tesla, after the original Roadster, the Model S, Model X, and Model 3. All of Tesla's cars have been tire-shredders since day one, thanks to the instantaneously available torque made possible by electric motors, as well as all-wheel-drive systems to enhance traction.
How Many Gears You Got?
One major aspect that Porsche hopes will vault the Taycan up and over all of Tesla's products is the use of two forward gears to route power to all four wheels. This should increase range, improve efficiency, and, theoretically, make the car faster—on paper. But how does the Taycan stack up in real life? Well, Drag Times put a range-topping Taycan Turbo S (no, it doesn't have a Turbo) to the test at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
A Rose By Any Other Name
This might just be the first official drag-strip test of the Taycan Turbo S and the results speak for themselves. The big sedan logged its best time on its second run, notching the quarter-mile in 10.522 seconds at 129.48 miles per hour. The best 0-60 mph time, meanwhile, clocked in at 2.59 seconds.
Those figures are downright neck-snapping, without a doubt, though InsideEVs points out that the best quarter-mile time for the comparable Tesla Model S sedan is 10.41 seconds, while its fastest 0-60 mph time is 2.28 seconds. But that's since the Model S debuted way back in 2012, while the Taycan was just one car doing a few sprints. So Porsche execs probably watched this video and cheered, confident that they'll best Elon Musk's cars quite soon.
Sources: Youtube, InsideEVs