Though it may weigh a few pounds more than five thousand, it is still a proper Porsche. Compact yet brawny, and imposing, this Taycan Turbo S is a startlingly quick car that performs as, well, a Porsche should. Repeatable launches, muscle-straining acceleration, and a rigid platform that dances like something half its size helps set it apart from the anodyne ‘competitors’ from America.
It’s impressed Leno, someone who’s not as discerning with the dynamics of a car, and it impresses Harris—over and over again. “It’s too much,” he says. “Every time you try and gas it, you almost rear-end the car in front,” he adds dryly. Where this car differs from some of the soulless Teslas this has been put up against is in the less obvious areas that appeal primarily to gearheads. The steering weights, the response of the vehicle, the way it changes direction and controls its body are all hallmarks of a sports car with all its elements working in unison. In this respect, the Taycan is miles ahead of the competition.
Though it moves like a 3,700-pound car, the weight and torque of the vehicle ruins the Goodyear Eagle tires in a few slides.
This attention to the finer points show us what the EV could be capable of. Most importantly, how it corners and its behavior once the limit of grip has been surpassed. In the footage below, Harris notes how the car “isn’t entirely communicative.” It’s similar to the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, and in that sense, it takes a special touch to get it smoking its rear tires (6:10). “You give it full beans and it throws everything to the rear immediately, and then it’ll start to bring the front in,” he informs us. Unfortunately, this prevents the typical pitch-and-plant-the-throttle approach from working. “You have to feather it, get the wheel straight almost, and like a rally car, it’ll begin to slide.”
While I might’ve felt some trepidation at the idea of EVs dominating, the way Harris conveys the potential of this style of vehicle, I now feel hopeful. When a major marque, one famous for so much attention paid to the smallest details, makes sure this supposedly sedate technology can thrill like any other, there’s certainly a happy future ahead.
