Don’t be fooled by the TDI badge. Underneath this winged body is a savage new tri-motor EV drivetrain
First images of what’s thought to be the 2024 Porsche Taycan GT have emerged from Europe, previewing the German brand’s 1000hp-plus answer to the mythical Tesla Model S Plaid.
The electric super sedan is seen here in classic Porsche prototype black with the usual camo maskings front and rear, but the most obvious indications of this particular Taycan’s identity as a ‘GT’ variant are the huge fixed rear wing and a high-performance carbon ceramic brake package.
The rest of the vehicle looks fairly innocuous by usual Porsche GT car standards – save for the hidden front splitter – but the tri-motor drivetrain rumoured to be lurking underneath should be anything but.
Another indicator of what’s sure to be supercar-busting performance is the roll cage, which can clearly be seen through the rear windows taking the place of the standard back seats and is something usually associated with flagship GT RS models as opposed to the ‘standard’ GTs.
Odds are the finished product won’t come as standard with any sort of roll cage – the Taycan is sold as a four-seater after all – but we wouldn’t be surprised if one was optionally available on its own or via a Sport Chrono-style or Weissach package.
Sources close to the project say the already savage dual-motor powertrain of the Taycan Turbo S has been swapped out in favour of an all-new tri-motor set-up primed to chuck out more than 1000hp (746kW) and probably enough torque to knock the moon out of orbit.
If these output claims prove true, the Taycan GT will be the most powerful series-production Porsche to date – eclipsing even the limited-edition 918 Spyder hypercar – and more than likely the quickest too.
Indeed it will need to be quick in order to compete with the Model S Plaid, which is claimed to hit 100km/h in a staggering 2.1sec.
For the record, Porsche’s quickest production model so far – at least officially – is the discontinued 918 Spyder with Weissach pack (0-100km/h in 2.6sec), while the 911 Turbo S is claimed to hit 100km/h in 2.7sec and the Taycan Turbo S in 2.8sec.
So it would be reasonable to expect a circa-2.0sec 0-100km/h time, a top speed north of 300km/h, a new Nurburgring EV lap record and a price tag well north that of the Taycan Turbo S ($351,000 plus ORCs).
What’s more, when it’s officially launched, Porsche will tell us exactly how much the Taycan GT will cost and when it will arrive here – unlike the 1020hp Tesla, local pricing and availability details for which disappeared from Tesla’s Australian website in 2021 without explanation.
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Keyword: Porsche Taycan GT to pack more than 746kW