2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is the fastest four-door at the ‘Ring
Smashing lap records without a drop of fuel
We’re just a few months into 2024, and Porsche is already out to show just how much they have improved their all-electric four-door sports car, the Taycan.
The folks from Stuttgart are expanding the Taycan lineup with the performance Turbo GT and the Turbo GT with Weissach package built to attack the track. Featuring a lighter chassis, a more powerful electric motor, and better aerodynamics, the two performance variants push the boundaries of the Taycan to the next level.
Porsche made the Taycan Turbo GT up to 75kg lighter than the Turbo S variant by using carbon fiber on the bodywork, the bucket seats, as well as omission of the soft-close function on the tailgate.
The underpinnings have also been optimized for performance driving, as Porsche equipped the Taycan Turbo GT with the dynamics package that features the Porsche Active Ride suspension. Lightweight ceramic brakes and 21-inch forged wheels also come standard to reduce unsprung weight and improve braking performance.
For its aerodynamics, the Taycan Turbo GT has a specific front chin splitter that works with the rear adaptive spoiler made in carbon fiber to keep the EV planted on the road.
Inside, the Taycan Turbo GT features lightweight bucket seats as standard, along with the Sport Chrono package from the Turbo S variant. The cabin is finished with a combination of black leather and Race-Tex upholstery. The Weissach package, on the other hand, dispenses the rear seats to get better power-to-weight ratio.
Across the range, Porsche has increased the overall system power of the Taycan. And for the Turbo GT, the rear axle motor puts out 788 PS. But in Launch Control mode, that power goes up to 1033 PS, and up to 1108 PS for two seconds. Maximum torque is measured at 1340 Nm. Porsche achieved this with a more powerful pulse inverter, increasing current flow from 600 to 900 Amperes.
Porsche says the Turbo GT models has up to 555 km of range, and features the improved 800-volt architecture for faster charging times. Performance-wise, the Taycan Turbo GT can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.3 seconds, while the Weissach package achieves it in 2.2 seconds.
Porsche took the updated Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package to the iconic Laguna Seca and Nurburgring-Nordschleife circuits, and set forth on a mission to set blistering lap times and prove the EV’s performance.
In typical Porsche fashion, they have succeeded. At the hands of Porsche development driver Lars Kern, the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package set a lap time of 7:07.55 on the Nordschleife. The official lap time is 26 seconds faster than the 2022 Taycan Turbo S Sport, and stands as the new record for a series-production EV. Not only that, the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package is the new four-door king of the ‘Ring. Yes, that includes four-door vehicles with ICEs.
Not long after that, Porsche took the Taycan Turbo GT to North America. This is where Lars Kern set a 1:27.87 lap time at the Laguna Seca Circuit. This makes Porsche’s EV the fastest electric-series production car to go around the 3.6 km track.
“The two records in Laguna Seca and on the Nordschleife show what great track potential there is in the Taycan. To prove your mettle on the track, it’s not enough to simply have as much power as possible. The overall package of accelerating and braking, cornering grip, aerodynamics, stability and fine-tuning has to be right. In the Taycan Turbo GT and the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package in particular, our engineers have achieved this in absolutely stunning fashion. They have already done a great job with the recently updated existing Taycan models. But our new GT cars yet again clearly raise the bar even higher in terms of driving dynamics,” said Porsche Taycan Model Line Vice President Kevin Giek.
The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is not yet available in the market, but Stuttgart says the first models should be delivered to customers by around spring (late March to late June 2024).
