Any difference between the two models?

I'm looking for performance design differences besides the motors and various options.

 

Watch a couple of videos on YouTube, all will be revealed

 

I've watched many videos, including Kyle's Technical Deep Dive twice, but I don't recall any mention of whether the Turbo has heftier brakes to compensate for its greater power. They're not the same across the ICE models, so I would expect them to be different for the EVs as well.

More broadly, I do think it would be useful to know what distinguishes the two models besides the motors, a range of features that come standard on the Turbo but not the 4 and Torque Vectoring, standard on the Turbo, but not available on the 4. I am referring to the US models and only performance features.

 

EV's cant' run long enough or hard enough to "need" heftier brakes…

My 2020 Taycan can only do about 8 laps at full pace @ laguna seca for example - 6-8 laps isn't enough time to thermally saturate Porsche's excellent performance brakes…

I'm guessing the Macan is equally limited - great performance until you reach some EV thermal limits and then the car needs a rest…

when tracking my Taycan here is the order of things you will "run out off" before you overwhelm even the standard brakes on a Taycan

1. Battery thermal capacity - 132F and then you'll have 'reduced' throttle capacity
2. street tires will be greasy and and limiting performance and braking (it's a heavy car street tires don't last that long before they overheat)
3. actual battery capacity - after about 10 min I'm at 45% battery down from 98% - not enough battery to run a "full DE session"
4. brakes may start to have some fade, but long after the previous 3 items have lowered your laps time and performance

for street driving - given heavy regenation during all deceleration events you are not tapping the brakes that much in virtually all street driving scenarios so no need to have them be "hefty" given that they are not actually used for a majority of stopping events…

I've owned (and tracked) EV's since 2011 - they can't run long enough or hard enough to need really really beefy brakes -other than Nurburgring laps in any normal street driving sceniaro (even extra-legal speeds) the brakes have more than enough time to cool down between usages…

I think Porsche now knows this and it's a tacit admission to this fact that they do not offer any brake options…PCCB's are a waste on the Taycan as they will never be "used" for their super power…

basically i've yet to run into a production EV/street that can run even 1/2 the duration of a sprint race - and you don't need high capacity brakes for even a sprint race, much less 1/2 the duration of a sprint race…there are many other limits you'll hit before your brakes need upgrading.

 

Thanks, I totally forgot about regeneration. For normal use that would seem to be the key. An EV is a whole different animal.

Can't wait for some road test reports...

 

for example from Taycan…. I'm going to assume Macan's braking regeneration is similar or better than Taycan which as we know 90% of normal driving does not involve the actual friction brakes.

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/27...ctric%20motors.

Porsche Engineering quote…

brakes really do not wear out on EV's - in Porsche's case Taycan is recommend to change brake pads after 6 years as a "time out" thing - not a "wear" thing…

I've never worn through my EV brakes in normal steel driving - track driving is something else entirely - but they don't "fade" - but you wear the brake pads on the track since regen is no match for continuous heavy braking…

 

No brake changes: I'm being totally deskilled as a home auto mechanic. I'll bet anything this timing light and dwell meter aren't going to do me any good either.

This is off topic, but, hey, I'm the OP: for real world driving on public roads (with and without the highway patrol lurking), do you expect the Turbo will offer much over the 4? If I lived in Europe, I could readily see the advantage, but in the US what can I actually do with the extra acceleration? From a full stop I'm going to hit traffic almost immediately. When overtaking a vehicle on the freeway either model will reach a maximum safe speed in a blink of the eye. I'm strongly tempted to buy the Turbo but common sense suggests I'll just be purchasing capacity I will hardly ever be able to access. Do you think that's the case? Or with that rare empty mile of highway ahead of me is the Turbo going to give me a rush the 4 can't match? I have no experience with EVs and therefore no reference points on which to rely.

 

I guess, you have answered your own question.
Macan 4 does 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, and that's very fast. Why spend over the top on Turbo? Better to spend on some extra options on Macan 4 that you really like. Personally, I prefer better range than blink of an eye speed - hardly practical, only looks good on paper. Plus, I have an eye on insurance as well.
My BMW i4 eDrive 40 sport, does 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds. I find it brisk enough at traffic lights to leave others behind. And who is going to go superfast every time from one stop light to another with the back full of groceries or toddlers in child-seat, and speed limits everywhere?

 

I'm addicted to EV drive trains and sub 4 second 0-60 - I can feel the difference between 5 seconds 0-60 and 3 seconds 0-60 - also the Turbo comes with more standard equipment vs. the 4 - I built a 4 but by the time I added the stuff it was missing the Turbo isn't that much more expensive if both cars have the same gear...but hey I'm a Porsche sucker.

buy the one you want so there are no regrets - both should be excellent - the sweet spot is probably going to be the eventual GTS 'version' but that's not out yet.

 

This table indicates the Turbo (left) and 4 (right) have different brakes.

 

Porsche EV's all offer heavy regen - friction brakes will see fractional use over the life time of the vehicle.