Tesla Plaid Striker: Taycan Turbo GT – The most powerful Porsche to date debuts

When Tesla introduced the Plaid models for the first time with more than 1000 hp at a reasonable price, it was a sensation. Porsche didn’t let this bother them and waited. Now the Taycan Turbo GT starts with more than 1100 hp.

Somehow it was clear. The fact that Tesla brought the first electric car to the market at a moderate price (of course, we are still talking about the price of six figures, but not seven figures) and 1020 hp did not leave Porsche unmoved. But the Zuffenhausen team didn’t seem too busy. After all, the plaid was already presented in 2020, so several years passed.

But in the spring of 2024 the time has come: the Taycan Turbo GT has arrived! It has already been presented in statistics. Now Porsche has also allowed outsiders to get behind the wheel. However, not on the public road this time, but on the track, where the Swabians can imagine their fastest and most powerful electric sedan. Oh what! By far the most powerful electric sedan, the Taycan Turbo GT is the most powerful Porsche ever with 1108 hp!

A fast electric car would probably be used more often as a comfortable travel tool than as a tracking beast. An extremely weight-reduced version with the so-called Weissach bag and only two seats (the rear seats have been left to make the Swabian lighter) with an amazing spoiler, but it will be more exotic on the road, one would expect. And compared to Tesla, Porsche is more reserved with certain values. The company does not promise 322 like the Americans, but “only” 305 km / h. But this higher speed only applies to the variant with the Weissach package.

The Taycan Turbo GT runs up to 305 kilometers per hour

The standard Turbo GT “ready” leaves 290 km / h. According to Porsche, tire safety is no longer possible considering the weight of around 2.4 tons. When it comes to lap times on the track, Porsche’s humor ends. And you feel proud when the Stuttgart company announces that the Taycan Turbo GT has set the record for the fastest electric production car around the 3.6km Laguna Seca race track in California (under one minute and 28 seconds). And the Turbo GT is also in trouble on the Nordschleife. Development driver Lars Kern needed just under seven minutes and eight seconds to reach around 20 kilometers for the pre-production version of the most powerful Porsche to date. By the way, that’s also faster than any previous four-door sedan (regardless of vehicle type). An exciting sound.

That’s why Porsche is also allowing the first press on the track in the Turbo GT. However, this time it is the Circuito Monteblanco in Andalusia, which is more than four kilometers long. It should be said that this first driving activity is only a sample. The road trips that follow will show a different feeling.

It’s clear that the Turbo GT feels very fast. However, even with an all-wheel drive, it has traction problems here on the surface, which is still a little wet from the rain. If you activate the so-called “Attack Mode”, the GT provides an extra kick thanks to an additional 163 horsepower for ten seconds. Then we head towards the horizon with 1108 horses. But as soon as you feel the pressure on your back, you have to put your foot down because the next curve is already flying towards you.

The main model of the Taycan becomes an athlete

It will be interesting to know when the so-called derating will start if you work at full load for a long time. This is the point at which the performance of the electric vehicle decreases. A general problem that electric drives have to struggle with more than combustion engines. In any case, a few kilometers of track will do nothing for the rope. And the engineers have developed a lot of features in the top model to be more powerful. A pulse converter with 900 instead of 600 amps works for the rear axle of the Turbo GT. And silicon carbide is used as a semiconductor material, which provides better heat than silicon, for example.

The Weissach pack is definitely a must for active sports fans. The impressive carbon fiber wing and the Weissach package logo placed on the side ensure 220 kg of total downforce to achieve the best lateral performance. But even a simple sprint at the speed of the country road can be done faster by the athlete, which has decreased by 70 kg compared to the basic version of the Turbo GT: in 2.2 instead of 2.3 seconds. From 0 to 200 km / h the standard Turbo GT model loses two tenths. Which, on the contrary, means that he still completes this discipline very quickly at 6.6 seconds. It is not surprising, as the booster produces an incredible torque of 1340 Newton meters.

Can the Taycan Turbo GT also be used in everyday life?

The question remains whether the Turbo GT, despite its brutal performance, can still be a suitable daily tourer. However: You don’t have to put up with the usual bucket seats made of CFRP, but instead you can get the comfortable “Adaptive Sports Seats Plus” with 18-way electric adjustment. Yes, and of course the manufacturer also promises exceptional charging performance for the top model, similar to the weaker versions. Looking at the WLTP range of up to 555 km also suggests some suitability for everyday use.

The Turbo GT will be the most professional of all-world transportation. Finally, a word about four-digit horsepower values: In addition to the Zuffenhausen and Tesla Plaid models, Lucid is also in the 1000 horsepower club. However, the question of whether the competition can achieve chassis precision à la Porsche raises doubts. However, you must also be able and willing to accept a list price of at least 240,000 euros. You guessed it right, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is already listed on the configurator and can be ordered.