Porsche’s Latest Stunt With the Taycan Is Marketing Gone Wrong

It was November 2006 when a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI pulled the 155-ton Boeing 747 for 150 meters at 5 mph. Since then, it seems, car manufacturers all around the world look to put their cars through some bizarre challenges for PR reasons. And it works. Everyone watched the Ford F-150 or the Land Rover Discovery pulling a train. As one of the latest PR stunts that should demonstrate the prowess of the new vehicle, Porsche released its new Taycan on the deck of an old U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. There, the Taycan managed to accelerate to 90.58 mph and stop before running out of the 869-feet deck.

Porsche Taycan's 0-90-0 Run On The USS Hornet Deck Is Not As Impressive As It Seems

The USS Hornet Museum is a museum ship docked in Alameda, California. It served as a Prime Recovery Ship for the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and it does exhibit Apollo-related memorabilia. Compared to a massive Nimitz class aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet has a far shorter deck, but an equally-distinguished career during WWII and subsequent missions in the Cold War.

The fact that it is shorter compared to the Nimitz class aircraft carrier actually elevates the Taycan accomplishment. Holbrook even had a space to spare. I cannot even imagine the thrill Holbrook felt while making this pass after the Taycan appeared on the deck carried by the only jet fighter lift on the carrier.

However, I think that is the single biggest problem of this stunt. I could not feel the thrill or the insanity of it. It happens all too fast; it does not feel dangerous or unique enough for the fascinating electric Taycan.

Holbrook probably did the stunt on the track, measured how quickly the Taycan can do 0-90-0 and then chose the venue. That's quite boring. It would be far more impressive if she accelerated and stopped before even knowing how long that deck is or how much space and time the Taycan needs for the feat. Then again, we live in a health-and-safety 2010s, not thrill-and-exciting 1980s. So I guess that's OK.

The Taycan, in a rather amazing company of old jet fighters, really did move quickly over that deck. It showed just how powerful its launch system really is. After all, this four-door electric machine will do 0-60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds, and reach a top speed of 155 mph. Not on an aircraft carrier, mind you.

Only two years ago BMW released a video showing the BMW M4 racing and drifting on a virtual, CGI track on top of the USS John C. Stennis. That was a PR stunt as well. As far as a real deal goes, I remember I've heard that some sailors did drag race their cars on the deck of some aircraft carriers. There's actually one video of it on the YouTube.

It is not exactly a thrilling video, but it definitely shows that people had some serious fun with cars on aircraft carrier decks. More fun than Holbrook probably.

Conclusion

While Porsche did not exactly pull out a trick on the same level of excitement as launching a Jag off a deck as TopGear did, the German company did show one thing. Its first full-electric vehicle is seriously quick. The Porsche Taycan will become the first proper competitor to the Tesla Model S P100D. While maybe not as quick as it is on the straight line, Porsche does promise it will be able to deliver continuous performance more than just a couple of times. With this 0-90-0 stunt, Porsche proved one thing. Its new Taycan can accelerate to 90 mph and stop quicker than a Golf MkII GTI needs to reach the 200 meter (656 feet) mark from a standing start. It really is an astonishing car worthy of your time.

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Porsche’s Latest Stunt With the Taycan Is Marketing Gone Wrong

Porsche Taycan's 0-90-0 Run On The USS Hornet Deck Is Not As Impressive As It Seems

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