Taycan CT vs Hummer EV

[Jrkennedy37]

In lifted mode, the top of the Taycan didn’t reach the bottom of the Hummer’s windows. And I was staring up into the wheel well from the driver’s seat. What a mammoth vehicle.

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[nickmdp]

Oh good, I was worried that someone was cross-shopping the two cars, and was trying to figure out how someone could be in a spot where both cars might be able to meet their needs. Maybe I'd buy the Hummer if I lived in Texas and needed to assert dominance on the people rolling coal and trying to intimidate EV owners.

 

[Jrkennedy37]

Oh good, I was worried that someone was cross-shopping the two cars, and was trying to figure out how someone could be in a spot where both cars might be able to meet their needs. Maybe I'd buy the Hummer if I lived in Texas and needed to assert dominance on the people rolling coal and trying to intimidate EV owners.

Lol. The frunk of the hummer is about 2/3 the size of my wagon cargo space, but that’s also the only insulated cargo area on the Truck version.

It also barely fits in the parking space. Apples and oranges no question.

 

[Jhenson29]

Not the same, but here it is with an H2. The site doesn’t have the Hummer EV yet.

Here’s a pic of the our car in front of a Silverado 3500. It’s hard to see the size diff because of the perspective with the Taycan in front, but the red lines I drew are the front and back of the truck.

 

[Jrkennedy37]

@Jhenson29 ’d like to see your Silverado vs the new Hummer EV. Bet the hummer is taller with a similar length.

From what I’m reading, the yet-to-be-released Hummer EV SUV will be shorter than the truck, identical in length to the Taycan, but similar height to the truck and more interior cargo space.

Both versions have 10 inches more ground clearance than the Taycan CT in lift mode, which I’m sure destroys any remote interest of highway efficiency.

Googling the Hummer EV size surfaced this recent article that makes similar observations: https://jalopnik.com/the-gmc-hummer-ev-is-huge-in-real-world-traffic-1849066946/amp

 

[Jhenson29]

@Jhenson29 ’d like to see your Silverado vs the new Hummer EV.

Just to clarify; thats not my truck. It was a work truck I had at home after driving back from from a trip.

But I think the Silverado is probably quite a bit longer. I think the one in the pic has a little over 9’ bed. I can’t fit it in any single parking space lengthwise.

That Hummer sure is wide though.

 

[tigerbalm]

Would like to see that Hummer EV get into a European parking garage!

 

[Arjan_]

Would like to see that Hummer EV get into a European parking garage!

Or parking on one of Amsterdam's canals

 

[f1eng]

Both versions have 10 inches more ground clearance than the Taycan CT in lift mode, which I’m sure destroys any remote interest of highway efficiency.

Ground clearance is a low order influence on efficiency as long as the underside isn’t too rough, which is usually ok on an EV because it is a battery not drive shafts and exhaust.
The big thing ruining highway efficiency is the shape and also frontal area, which is dreadful and huge, respectively, on the Hummer - and almost all trucks and SUVs.

 

[JimBob]

There are some studies out there on the effect of reducing ride height on the Cd for Teslas which should be a good proxy for the Taycan. One study here puts it at a reduction in Cd of around 8% for a reduction in ride height of 1.5 inches. But the details of how the Cd for the Taycan were calculated are unknown. Probably the best conclusion is that the faster you are going the lower the ride height you want.

 

[Tsingtao]

Having sat in this POS last week I cant resist inserting a comment, or two, regarding the hummer. For a car with a $114k price tag (which was being peddled at a local MB dealership for well north of $200k) there is an embarrassing amount of the cheapest plastic known to the auto industry; the sun visors look and feel like they were borrowed from a Chevy Sonic; the moon theme (eg on speaker covers and elsewhere) looks dumber in real life than any video can possibly portray; and in general its interior cant hold a candle to the Rivian, and comparing anything about this thing to a porsche is nonsensical. In fairness, the digital rear view mirror was nice (would really like one on my Taycan), the removable sunroof panels are innovative, and the thing does look rather badass. I’d love to rent one for a weekend of automotive debauchery but could not imagine looking at it in the garage every morning.

 

[f1eng]

One study here puts it at a reduction in Cd of around 8% for a reduction in ride height of 1.5 inches.

I have thousands of hours experience wind tunnel and CFD testing cars, mainly Formula 1 but some road car too.

A frequent simplification is often made, which is not to rotate the wheel but IME the flow field around stationary wheels and the ground not moving relative to the car makes big flow field changes which are probably not correctable by a fudge factor.
On one road car I tested with the wheels rotating the cooling air went through the radiator and then under the car with the wheels stationary the radiator exit air came out of the wheelarch so the force data from the non rotating wheel case is obviously not comparable with reality.

I long ago (30+ years) concluded aero testing without rotating wheels and moving ground was a waste of money since I needed real information.

The road car industry was and is massively behind the racing car industry in accurate aero knowledge since until recently (and probably still today) aero is trumped by styling and marketing.

The study you link is a thorough and expensive one but from my experience the starting assumptions mean the results are of questionable use.

 

[Dee]

The road car industry was and is massively behind the racing car industry in accurate aero knowledge since until recently (and probably still today) aero is trumped by styling and marketing.

I don't think Porsche put a DRS system on their new GT3 RS just for marketing.

It's also funny to see that in F1 it's hard to design a new floor without porpoising...
Like you said, testing without a moving road (and moving wheels) is just guessing and means you aren't fighting for the world championship anymore...
Some teams had it right (sort of) but there's still a lot to develop.

That said, Porsche know a thing or two about racing and I'm sure they know how to design a car.
The vents on the front fender of the Taycan remind me of the old 935...
Even the GT3 has vents over the wheels like the old 935.
That's so cool and certainly has a function.
I don't think it's RICE (Racing Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements) which you see a lot on Civics, Supras and RX7s.

 

[f1eng]

It's also funny to see that in F1 it's hard to design a new floor without porpoising...

I was amused by that.

The young guys doing it now have too narrow an experience and use too many static analyses that give no worthwhile information about dynamic response.
The only 2 blokes I know who worked on cars the last time we had ground effect who are still working in F1 today are Adrian Newey and Rory Byrne ( who is retained as a consultant by Ferrari) guess which cars porpoise least and are fastest?

Patrick Head suggested to one of the teams they should use my expertise in ground effect but they were insulted by the suggestion. When they had problems and contacted me I told them it’s was too late.
Adrian is the youngest engineer in F1 with broad experience and he is 63!

Today, because the smaller Formulae are one-make young engineers have zero roadmap to wide motor racing experience and end up in F1 being super specialised in one aspect and knowing almost nowt about the rest.
Sad decline IMO.

 

[Dee]

I was amused by that.

The young guys doing it now have too narrow an experience and use too many static analyses that give no worthwhile information about dynamic response.
The only 2 blokes I know who worked on cars the last time we had ground effect who are still working in F1 today are Adrian Newey and Rory Byrne ( who is retained as a consultant by Ferrari) guess which cars porpoise least and are fastest?

Patrick Head suggested to one of the teams they should use my expertise in ground effect but they were insulted by the suggestion. When they had problems and contacted me I told them it’s was too late.
Adrian is the youngest engineer in F1 with broad experience and he is 63!

Today, because the smaller Formulae are one-make young engineers have zero roadmap to wide motor racing experience and end up in F1 being super specialised in one aspect and knowing almost nowt about the rest.
Sad decline IMO.

Adrian and RB are a golden team indeed.
It's good to see Mercedes struggling.

But let's get on topic* again: I just love that silly Hummer!
The bigger the better! Lol!!

*I thought we were in the side vents topic, lol.

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