Top Gear: Taycan demolishes Tesla Model S in drag race (in the dry)

Dee

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Ah, you beat me, I was just looking if someone already posted this vid.

Anyway, it's clear the Taycan is also faster at the 0-60, like almost 0,1 seconds.
That's impressive cuz the Taycan weighs over 130kg more than the Model S!

What I'm also really interested in is the second and third time you do this drag race...
I just wonder how much effect it would have on their performance figures...
 

JayGT4

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The video also shows that the Taycan demolishes the Model S in looks too!
 

ThomasDK

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I think this is fake news, but time will tell. Normally S are quicker 1/4 mile.
 

Jenner

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I think this is fake news, but time will tell. Normally S are quicker 1/4 mile.
Looks like they did it on an old runway. Not a prepared sticky drag strip. I can see the Model S with the narrower tires benefiting from that type of surface, but the old runway is more like real world conditions and I would think the Taycan would benefit from the drag strip surface as well no?

The thing I don't get (and it could just be poor video editing from multiple cameras and runs etc) is why at the 1 min mark after they launch and its neck and neck the Model S seems to surge ahead and then the Taycan claws its way back to the front. Perhaps for drama or poor editing IDK.

I believe the faster "2.4" times for 0-60 on the Model S come from Tesla including 1' of rollout as well as running on a drag surface.

The Porsche Turbo S is slightly faster and offers repeatable performance throughout the battery charge level but I have no problem saying the Model S is incredibly fast for its price and it's a bit sad that only the Turbo S at double the price can beat it. To make it worse I am sure in the next year or two Elon will release something that will trash the Turbo S for $150k or less which puts it into 4S with options or zero option Turbo range. That will sting but bench racing aside it's the other items with the Porsche that are why I'm buying it, not specifically for 0-60 or 1/4 mile times.
 


TheSnape

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The video also shows that the Taycan demolishes the Model S in looks too!
The Taycan, I think, is the best looking car Porsche is making at the moment.

Best looking Porsche in fact since the 1994-1998 Porsche 911 (993 generation)
 

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The Taycan, I think, is the best looking car Porsche is making at the moment.

Best looking Porsche in fact since the 1994-1998 Porsche 911 (993 generation)
I had the 1998 Porsche 911.....the only Porsche I was HAPPY to get rid of. EVERY time I stepped in that vehicle, something didnt work.....The biggest lemon ever! They say those were the last "hand built" Porsches before "fully" automated assembly.....Thanks for automation!!! The next Porsche i had was a 2002 911....had that car for 12 years and the ONLY thing that broke was a burned out taillamp, in 12 years!!!! Amazing quality!!

Back on topic.....are these reviews for Porsche, or are they objective. They dont show the driver of the Tesla, or tell you the prep for the race, or how many times they raced.....Seems too pro Porsche to sound objective. I mean I WANT the race to reflect reality. One or two tenth of a second can be the driver, not the vehicle.
 


Jenner

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The real world performance specs of the Porsche like wider tires, 2 speed gear box, top end/highway performance and consistent performance down to the very end of the battery mean that on any given day the Taycan Turbo S will win.

The two are extremely close in 0-60 & 1/4 mile performance and yet so very different in all other ways especially price, range, interior space/storage, handling, driving feel, build quality, materials quality, looks (subjective but I'd say majority says the Porsche is better), what does it really matter if one is a tenth faster here or there? Internet bragging rights? If you can afford the Taycan and like the Taycan you buy the Taycan even if it is only "just" as fast as a current Model S. The Model S is going to get faster (and still cost less) before the Taycan does...

Also this is the $200k Turbo S that is splitting hairs with the $100k Model S. The majority of Taycan's out there will be slower but it doesn't matter. The Taycan is a very different car even if they are both EVs (sorry I cannot call the Model S a luxury EV). Porsche built the Taycan with a very different set of goals, a VERY different price and for a different market/clientele. As he said in the review the Taycan is like the 911 and feels very "familiar" to anyone who has experience with Porsche. A Model S will never feel anything like a Porsche never mind a 911...
 
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TheSnape

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I had the 1998 Porsche 911.....the only Porsche I was HAPPY to get rid of. EVERY time I stepped in that vehicle, something didnt work.....The biggest lemon ever! They say those were the last "hand built" Porsches before "fully" automated assembly.....Thanks for automation!!! The next Porsche i had was a 2002 911....had that car for 12 years and the ONLY thing that broke was a burned out taillamp, in 12 years!!!! Amazing quality!!

Back on topic.....are these reviews for Porsche, or are they objective. They dont show the driver of the Tesla, or tell you the prep for the race, or how many times they raced.....Seems too pro Porsche to sound objective. I mean I WANT the race to reflect reality. One or two tenth of a second can be the driver, not the vehicle.
Hmm I always preferred the aesthetics of the pre-1998 911's (like 993 and older) - looks much sleeker and nicer headlights

As for the reviews, I think they are objective. They seem to be anyway. But the way you interpret the reviews can be very subjective, and so, to be honest, it doesn't really matter what the review says. That's really confusing, I know, so I'll give an example.

I've seen reviews praising the Tesla Model S for having more interior space, more rear headroom and more practicality.

But I see these as plus points for the Taycan, as the Taycan is a sports car, and I'd be a little bit worried if it was more practical than the Tesla

Then there's things like handling, which Taycan does better, obviously positive

Even acceleration I'm not too bothered by, as it still accelerates very fast, even if not as fast as Tesla, as acceleration will always come second to handling for a sports car with involving driving experience.

Area where I'm concerned is weight - very objective, and unfortunately Tesla Model S weighs less. This in my opinion is what Porsche should be most concerned about - this is a sports car, it should not be too heavy, I could live with it being heavier than a 911 maybe but I'm really concerned that it's heavier than the Model S.
 

charliemathilde

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Area where I'm concerned is weight - very objective, and unfortunately Tesla Model S weighs less. This in my opinion is what Porsche should be most concerned about - this is a sports car, it should not be too heavy, I could live with it being heavier than a 911 maybe but I'm really concerned that it's heavier than the Model S.
Yeah. Unfortunately we’ll likely have to live with the weight problem for about 5 years. The solid state batteries should be production ready in time for the .2 generation
 

Jenner

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The best bit from the jalopnik link:

Update, 4:45 p.m.: A Top Gear Magazine spokesperson reached out to Jalopnik to confirm that the latest video did in fact use the results of a previous test, claiming it was the fastest the magazine has ever recorded the car, with the 2017 Tesla outperforming the results of the 2019 Tesla featured in the latest video against the Taycan:

We drag raced the Taycan and the Tesla Model S five times, and each time the result was the same – the Porsche was faster.

The figures for the Tesla that we published alongside the story were the fastest figures we had ever recorded for a Model S, achieved on a previous occasion.

These figures were slightly faster than those achieved on the day when the Tesla was racing back to back with the Taycan. The important point remains, however, that in our tests the Porsche consistently edged the Model S.

TopGear.com also released a clarification post about the video, which you can read here, including numbers from the 2019 Tesla test:

The best figures we recorded for the Taycan Turbo S were:

0-60: 2.61
0-100: 6.12
¼ mile: 10.69s @ 131.6mph

The best figures we recorded for the Tesla Model S Performance were:

0-60: 2.83
0-100: 6.64
¼ mile: 11.23s @ 123.2mph


The numbers we posted in the video for the Tesla were:

0-60: 2.68
0-100: 6.46
¼ mile: 11.08s @ 124.0mph

These were numbers we recorded in a Model S on a previous occasion. We ran them because these are the best figures we’ve achieved in a Model S to date so we know that’s what the car is capable of.
 

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The best bit from the jalopnik link:

Update, 4:45 p.m.: A Top Gear Magazine spokesperson reached out to Jalopnik to confirm that the latest video did in fact use the results of a previous test, claiming it was the fastest the magazine has ever recorded the car, with the 2017 Tesla outperforming the results of the 2019 Tesla featured in the latest video against the Taycan:

We drag raced the Taycan and the Tesla Model S five times, and each time the result was the same – the Porsche was faster.

The figures for the Tesla that we published alongside the story were the fastest figures we had ever recorded for a Model S, achieved on a previous occasion.

These figures were slightly faster than those achieved on the day when the Tesla was racing back to back with the Taycan. The important point remains, however, that in our tests the Porsche consistently edged the Model S.

TopGear.com also released a clarification post about the video, which you can read here, including numbers from the 2019 Tesla test:

The best figures we recorded for the Taycan Turbo S were:

0-60: 2.61
0-100: 6.12
¼ mile: 10.69s @ 131.6mph

The best figures we recorded for the Tesla Model S Performance were:

0-60: 2.83
0-100: 6.64
¼ mile: 11.23s @ 123.2mph


The numbers we posted in the video for the Tesla were:

0-60: 2.68
0-100: 6.46
¼ mile: 11.08s @ 124.0mph

These were numbers we recorded in a Model S on a previous occasion. We ran them because these are the best figures we’ve achieved in a Model S to date so we know that’s what the car is capable of.
So on that run the Taycan was actually faster

Why not just use the figures from the recorded run? Maybe the best figures for the Model S were ran under better conditions - giving it an unfair advantage?
 

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So on that run the Taycan was actually faster

Why not just use the figures from the recorded run? Maybe the best figures for the Model S were ran under better conditions - giving it an unfair advantage?
Does not seem to really matter since the Taycan appears to have won in both circumstances….
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