Porsche Taycan – performance and 0-60 time

You can’t buy a slow Taycan. Each model has received a power boost as part of the Gen 2 facelift, meaning that even the base rear-drive version dips under 5sec in the sprint to 62mph (4.8sec, to be exact). The 4S’s extra power and traction cut that down to 3.7sec, and the Turbos move up to supercar – and hypercar – levels of thrust. The ‘standard’ Turbo competes the benchmark in just 2.7sec, the Turbo S in 2.4, and the Weissach-equipped Turbo GT a faintly ridiculous 2.2sec. The Sport Turismo matches the saloon's acceleration times, though Cross Turismo versions are about a tenth slower to 62mph. 

The Taycan’s two-speed transmission helps maintain some of that potency at higher speeds, with the base car topping out at 143mph. The 4S, meanwhile, tops out at 155mph, with the Turbo and Turbo S reaching 162mph – not very impressive in the context of their mammoth power outputs, but more than the Mercedes-AMG EQE53 (137mph) and BMW’s i5 M60 (143mph). 180mph for the Turbo GT is a bit more like it (opting for the Weissach Package raises this to 190mph).

Drive a Taycan Turbo and it’s hard to fathom that there are two even quicker models in the range. The instant, violent performance is borderline unusable unless you’re on a well-sighted road, and it pulls relentlessly up to motorway speeds and beyond. The Taycan’s push-to-pass function unlocks even more performance for ten second bursts – the way it catapults forward from a standstill needs to be felt to be believed. 

Find yourself in a Turbo GT, and a launch control start is just about the most violent thing you can experience in a car aside from being rear-ended by a bus. There’s an initial phase where power overwhelms traction, but the Turbo GT still finds phenomenal forward drive from rest and continues to pile on speed well beyond 140mph. 

But while the Turbo GT will win any YouTube drag race you throw at it, the 4S is easily fast enough to satisfy your needs as a fast GT car. It's still absurdly quick and flexible but you can find a better flow with it, surging between corners rather than squirting between them in a blur. Unless you’re an insatiable power junky, you really don’t need anything more.