Taycan’s EV Performance Push Forecasts Future Of Porsche Performance
Lap records for EV’s show Porsche is proving a point about electrified performance.
If it didn’t have significance, Porsche probably wouldn’t do it. But it does, so they did. What exactly did they do? They sent the new Porsche Taycan Turbo S around Laguna Seca to set a production EV record.
A record previously held by a Tesla Model S Plaid stood at 1:30.3. Porsche’s own fast lap there rides with a GT2 RS t 1:28.30. And according to Car and Driver, the Taycan Turbo S is faster still at 1:27.87.
This is interesting for a company like Porsche, which puts a priority on performance and speed. When clearly theres an advantage with electric power, what does that do to a future perspective of future models? Well, it means Porsche has a problem.
Since 1964, the flagship of the Porsche line has always been the 911. Yes, there have been the specials. The Carerra GT, the 918, and more. But those weren’t mass produced. The Taycan? It is the 4th most popular Porsche model and not at all far behind 911 sales.
Rumors of a hybrid 911 have been around since the GT3 R Hybrid appeared in 2010. But that was a show-of-force rather than a viable concept. Power was stored and sent to the electric motors via a flywheel accumulator. That didn’t really catch on.
But battery tech has since come a long way, and Porsche is already testing the sporting waters with the electric Cayman. This step makes sense. A light weight, sporty car is the test bed for the next flagship sports model. And what shoes it has to fill. With a car to light on its feet and sweet to drive, it must retain those characteristics even when burdened by the weight of lithium and cobalt.
But the Cayman is new. The 911 isn’t. The 911 has history, enriched by the uniqueness of its engine and its whereabouts. An electric 911? It loses all of that. You can hang batteries out the back of an electric car, but they are so heavy that no enginerr would be so daft to pull off such a stunt. But, the performance evidence is clearer than ever. An electric 911 would be fast as hell. An electric 911 would be as fast as a Taycan Turbo S.
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Photos courtesy of Car and Driver
