Ladies and gentlemen, this is the sort of battle that has the potential to change the EV segment forever. So far, Tesla’s viciously quick Model S has been kicking supercars and muscle cars to the curb in drag races around the world to the delight of Elon Musk’s fanbase. However, it looks like the electric sedan has met its match and then some in the squeaky-new Porsche Taycan. TopGear took the two EVs out for a spin that culminated with both a drag race and a top speed run on the Autobahn. Let’s see how that went, shall we?
This is the drag race the car world needed for a long time
Tired of seeing the Tesla Model S smoke out fancy supercars like it’s nothing? Well, fret not, the Porsche Taycan is here, and the odds are about to be balanced. Come to think of it, we kind of expected the Model S to meet its match in an all-electric car and the Porsche Taycan surely provided in that regard. So, before you actually get to watch the video, let’s have a look at each four-door’s spec sheet because, as you know - or you’re about to find out - these two are very tightly-matched on paper.
The Tesla Model S Performance, the king of the hill in the Model S lineup, can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.4 seconds. That’s pretty impressive for a vehicle that due to its large battery pack, tips the scales at 4,941 pounds. In the opposite corner, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S dispatches the 0-60 miles per hour interval in 2.6 seconds and is actually heavier than the Model S, coming in at 5,121 pounds. Each car is motivated by two electric motors: in the Taycan, the duo combines to produce 750 horsepower (with Launch Control, a feature TopGear’s presenter engages before the actual drag race), while in the Tesla, the e-motors make 754 horsepower. Now, keep in mind that TopGear used a Vbox to pinpoint just how fast the two cars get to 60 miles per hour from a dead stop, and it turns out that the Taycan does it in 2.61 seconds, while the Model S needs 2.68 seconds. The video also gives out results for the 0-100 miles per hour dash as well as quarter-mile performance. We won’t go into too much detail because the video can provide that.
There are suspicions over TopGear's results, though...
Now, the 15-minute clip isn’t just about seeing which car is quicker or faster. Yes, both cars get a speed-limit-free run on the Autobahn, and the Taycan actually surpasses its declared top speed, managing to top out at 166.5 miles per hour (268 kilometers per hour), although Porsche’s literature says it can only do 161 miles per hour (259.1 kilometers per hour). It’s also worth noted that the drag race itself has had its doubters, including Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes, who, according to Teslarati, noticed “several things that are wrong about the results.”
The host further argues that the Tesla Model S wasn’t in Launch Mode during the drag race - otherwise, engaging it would cause the car to “squat,” something that doesn’t happen in the video. What’s more, Mr. Weisblat claims that the Tesla’s Vbox results are “to the hundredth, exactly the same” to those coming from a drag race back in 2017, when a Model S came up against the Mercedes-AMG E 63. In other words, you can’t get the exact 0-60, 0-100, and quarter-mile time in two different races even if you race the same cars.
If these claims are true - and don’t get us wrong, but Mr. Weisblat isn’t your drag race rookie - we can’t help but wonder why didn’t TopGear use the actual results gathered during their drag race in the first place?