The Taycan Turbo GT has already set track records at the Nurburgring and Laguna Seca.
While the current top-of-the-line Taycan Turbo S was already a not a slow car by any sense of the word, it would seem that Porsche was nevertheless still keen on becoming the last word in performance EVs. And to that end, it hence has since decided to debut a new Turbo GT trim of its all-electric four-door sedan, which incidentally comes with all the right figures to see the Stuggart stallion easily see off whatever Tesla or Lucid may be up to, for a long time coming yet.
Starting with the headline figures first, the Taycan Turbo GT is the current record holder for the fastest four-door of any powertrain type on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a pre-production variant having pounded round the Green Hell in just 7:07.55. This impressive feat outpaces the main Tesla Model S Plaid competitor by 18 seconds, the prior top-tier Turbo S by some 26 seconds, and most impressively perhaps, falls just 2.25 seconds short of the near 2,000 hp Rimac Nevera EV hypercar.
Porsche has also announced that its Taycan Turbo GT (with the Weissach package) currently holds the title of the “fastest electric series-production car” at the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, with a lap time of 1:27.87. This record-setting run took place on February 23, 2024, with its in-house development driver Lars Kern behind the wheel as well for the attempt.
Now all these track records come unsurprisingly from Porsche having turned up the wick on this Taycan. Still surprisingly featuring only a pair of drive motors, the Turbo GT nevertheless nets an upgraded rear propulsion unit — featuring a new silicon carbon pulse inverter — that thus sees it be capable of churning out a peak of 1,092 horsepower and 1,340 Nm of torque, which incidentally is sufficient to see this particular EV become the German performance car maker’s most powerful production car it has ever made thus far, beating even 918 hybrid hypercar.
Add to the mix too enhanced transmission ratios, and the Turbo GT holds the crown for being Porsche’s fastest accelerating production car yet as well. With launch control activated, 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) is currently being quoted by the manufacturer at 2.2 seconds for the normal version of this new top-end Taycan, while the lightweight Weissach package option further drops that already blistering quick time by another 0.1 second.
Another accelerative highlight to be found on the Turbo GT is its new Attack Mode, which serves as an upgrade over the push-to-pass feature available on other Taycans. This new essentially overboost function unlocks an extra 160 hp of power to all four wheels for 10 second increments, through the simple action of just tugging on the right paddle shifter.
Moving onto the other changes made to the Turbo GT, this top-end Taycan has been fitted by a new bespoke set of 21-inch forged wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres. Hiding behind those lightweight rollers too are upgraded ceramic brakes accentuated by the Victory Gold calipers, in addition to Active Ride suspension comes standard with variant-specific tuning.
The Turbo GT has further been graced by protruding aeroblades on its front spoiler, and a gurney flap atop its adaptive rear one. Carbon fibre coverings for the B-pillars, side mirrors, and side skirts meanwhile adds to the already sporty aesthetic of this fast four-door, not to mention also providing some marginal weight savings.
Though in terms actual weight shedding, the optional Weissach package puts the Taycan Turbo GT on a real diet by ditching the rear seats entirely on this four-door car, in place of a carbon fibre shelf with extra storage. Porsche has also thrown to the kerb the floor and boots mats, the Bose Surround Sound system, the right-side charging port and even the analog clock for an overall weight reduction of 71 kg over the Turbo S.
And while on the topic of weight, the Weissach package interestingly enough adds some by way of a few custom aerodynamic elements like an underbody air deflector and front diffuser. This is then to be topped off with the bespoke fixed carbon rear wing, which bring the total downforce potential of this hardest core of Porsche Taycan to 220 kg.
Another interesting quirk for this variant of Taycan is that while Race-Tex leather-lined carbon buckets have finally been made available with this Porsche in Europe, American crash test regulations have unfortunately meant that US-spec cars will have to make do with the slightly heavier adaptive Sports Seats Plus standard with 18-way electric adjustment and a memory option. Both options still in any case feature the Turbo GT logo is stamped into the headrests as well as the centre console, with the GT Sport steering wheel rounding off the sporty cabin feel.
Deliveries of the Turbo GT are anticipated to begin in summer 2024, with prices expected to start in the US from $230,000 (RM 1.1 million). This unsurprisingly makes it the most establishing it as the most expensive Taycan variant to date, but surprisingly enough the Weissach package is to be a no cost option!
