Page 58 - Motor Trend (May 2020)

FIRST TEST/TRACK TEST
torque hit nearly put the fledgling auto-
maker out of business.
I’ll save the details of our dragstrip test
for Chris Walton (see page 62). My impres-
sions from the sideline: The Taycan sits
eerily silent, like the first atom bomb at
T-minus one before detonating at Trinity.
Walton abruptly releases the brake. The
tires are clearly spasming with incip-
ient wheelspin as the car disappears—
shrinking, shrinking, puff … gone.
On to the figure eight. The Porsche
engineer said I might be better off with
stability and traction control left on, but
I thumbed the button on the instrument
display’s right side anyway to defeat it.
The Model S’ system can’t be deactivated;
the Model 3’s Track mode behaves exactly
the opposite—it’s almost monkey-dance
exuberant. I was curious to feel the
Porsche’s naked, unembellished handling.
At 81 mph, I spot my secret crack in the
asphalt (shh) and stab the brake pedal. It
58 MOTORTREND.COM MAY 2020
Porsche driver Patrick Long (right) waits as the Taycan has its tires swapped
and is festooned with cameras and antennas for our impromptu lapping.
feels a little soft (it’s a by-wire system), but perfectly hidden by the steering wheel rim.
this is a 5,109-pound car—that’s seven baby The side mirror controls are more easily
grand pianos—that Walton already proved reached by a rear passenger; the critical
can be halted in 103 feet from 60 mph. Its rear glass is an oblong porthole, and the
16.5-inch front and 16.1-inch rear carbon- panoramic roof provides a vista of clouds
ceramic discs are automobiledom’s version and birds and whatever else is up there you
of an aircraft carrier’s arrester wires. shouldn’t be looking at.
As I enter the turn, despite the Taycan’s As our exclusive day of Taycan testing
nicely balanced weight distribution, a wound down, the Porsche PR rep asked,
quick steering twist warps the tires’ side- “Oh, I forgot to mention that we have the
walls into 1.02 g’s of seven-piano under- infield road course rented. Patrick Long is
steer. Exiting, it walks the tail around at a available for rides. Interested?”
very sassy angle. He might as well have asked if we wanted
Before we delve into the Taycan’s inner to reverse global warming.
self, here’s a potpourri of overall obser- In a few short minutes, I twisted toward
vations. Numerology: It’s 98 percent of Long from the passenger seat as he accel-
a Panamera GTS’ length but 109 percent erated flat-out—I barely had time to shout
of its weight, yet it already hits 60 mph in greetings to the incongruently free-spirited
the time it takes the Panamera to reach
50. I think the Taycan’s design tilts too
understated for a 2.4-second car with the
legendary “Turbo S” on its rump. And
the battery pack is impressively large (93
kW-hr), giving what it sacrifices to provide
holes for the rear passengers’ feet.
Then there’s the synthesized drivetrain
sound, a techno mix of the motor’s actual
soundprint. In Sport mode it’s the whoosh
of a high-speed elevator headed for the
77th floor; switch to Sport+, and you’ll
check the mirror for Lord Voldemort.
Let’s check the surprising list of
ergonomic quirks: The shifter toggle is
At speed on Auto Club (California)
Speedway’s infield road course.