Although it’s heavy, the vehicle is capable of achieving a fast lap time thanks to some amazing tech.
Germany’s Sport Auto has a long history of performance vehicle testing. They regularly test vehicles around the Nürnbergring Nordschleife, and Hockenheim. The latest video shows the driver behind the wheel of the Porsche Taycan Turbo to show how it performs on the track.
An EV makes a much more subtle sound than a combustion engine, but it’s not as loud. The electric motors’ high-pitched sounds dominate the noise. You can also hear the squealing tires or the roar of air moving across your body.
Although the Taycan is composed, it can get a bit feisty if the driver pushes too hard. The rear will sometimes turn on, so the pilot must be careful to keep the track straight.
Hockenheim offers a mixture of tight corners and straights at high speed. The Taycan can reach 160.9 mph (or 259 km/h) on one section. This is only a fraction of Porsche’s claimed track speed of 161mph.
The lap was completed by the Taycan in 1:54.1 seconds. Comparing to other Sport Auto tests at Hockenheim a Porsche Cayman GT4 completes the lap in 1:53.9 – just two tenths faster than the electric Porsche. The BMW M5 Competition is a little slower than the electric Porsche, clocking in at 1:54.2. The Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is behind them all, completing a lap in 1;54.6.
We find the Taycan faster than the GT500 especially impressive, even though specs on paper don’t always translate into real-world lap times. The Porsche is 6,16 horsepower (670 HP when using launch control) with 626 pound-feet and a weight of 5,132 pounds. The Mustang is hot with 760 horsepower and 625 lb.ft. It weighs in at 4,171lbs.
The Taycan’s all-wheel drive and four wheel steering give it an edge. Ford describes the GT500 more as a drag racer rather than a corner-carving track machine.