Earlier this month, a German television show got a first crack at testing the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S to see which electric sedan could be crowned king. Except, the Model S used was an older version and wasn't the best comparison.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and Top Gear has brought the latest Tesla Model S Performance, complete with Ludicrous Plus mode, and the Porsche Taycan Turbo S for a proper matchup. In the process, this very well may be the quietest drag race ever conducted.
This race makes things interesting since the Model S Performance now packs updated electric motors and suspension bits. On paper, it's quicker to 60 mph than the Taycan Turbo S, and it's estimated to also have more horsepower. By comparison, the Porsche is heavier, though there's more torque onboard. On paper, it's also quicker to 100 mph than the Tesla.
At the point, I'm going to start diving into the clocked figures, so if you don't want spoilers, it's best to play the video above and come back after the video.
Ready? Great. If you watched the video, you saw the Porsche Taycan take the checkered flag. It's a pretty close race until the end when the Taycan starts to pull away from the Model S Performance. That likely reflects the Porsche's quicker 0-100 mph number. Indeed, the German electric sedan reached 100 mph more quickly and took just 6.12 seconds. The Model S Performance was a little behind at 6.46 seconds.
What's a tad shocking was seeing the Taycan also clock a slightly quicker 0-60 mph time. The Tesla clipped 60 mph off in 2.68 seconds, while the Porsche managed it in 2.61 seconds. The Porsche, on paper, should be slower. Instead, they're nearly an even match.
All of this translated to a higher trap speed for the Porsche (131.6 mph) with a quarter-mile time of 10.69 seconds. The Tesla was hardly a disappointment with a speed of 124 mph and a quarter-mile time of 11.08 seconds. Those are quick times no matter who you ask.
But, it's the Porsche that's trumped the Model S again. We really couldn't count the first comparison because of the outdated Tesla used. This time, it's clear the Porsche team did its homework to hunt down the gold standard that is the Model S in electric sedans. Now, about that Model S Plaid variant...
