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Driving a automobile with greater than 1,000 horsepower is usually a bit nerve-wracking, a sense that may seemingly be compounded in case your first expertise with it’s on a race observe you’ve by no means pushed on earlier than. However as I’m lapping Circuito Monteblanco close to Seville, Spain in the 2025 Taycan Turbo GT, Porsche’s first try at an electrical manufacturing automobile that’s engineered for on-track prowess, what strikes me is simply how straightforward the electrical sedan is to drive confidently. It feels mega fast, in fact, however as an alternative of being daunting it’s encouraging and thrilling.
The Turbo GT has already set lap data at Laguna Seca and the Nürburgring that aren’t solely spectacular for an EV, however higher than many benchmark inside combustion manufacturing automobiles and race automobiles. The truth that it’s a heavy electrical sedan simply provides on to how spectacular its efficiency is, and that’s a part of what makes the Turbo GT such a satisfying automobile. Porsche makes use of advanced know-how to boost the Taycan’s driving expertise with out taking away from the qualities that make individuals love Porsche’s track-oriented GT merchandise, leading to a automobile that’s deserving of the badge.
Full disclosure: Porsche flew me to Spain to drive the 2025 Taycan lineup, with the usual Taycans used for the on-road parts and the Turbo GTs being relegated to the race observe. I ate nice meals and slept in a room that had an exquisite view of Seville, however rewatching “Mission: Inconceivable – Useless Reckoning” on the aircraft trip dwelling was in all probability the perfect a part of the journey.
Now, the Turbo GT doesn’t all the time make that full 1,000-plus horsepower. In regular driving it has 777 hp and 855 pound-feet of torque, with the max 1,092 hp and 988 lb-ft coming on-line for 2 seconds when utilizing Assault Mode — extra on that in a bit — and a peak of 1,019 hp lasting as much as ten seconds when utilizing launch management. That’s a not-insignificant enhance over the refreshed Taycan Turbo S, which places out 764 hp and 722 lb-ft usually or 938 hp and 818 lb-ft with launch management.
In contrast to opponents from Tesla and Lucid, Porsche hasn’t gone with a tri-motor setup, as an alternative sticking with one electrical motor at every axle. To realize the upper output, the Turbo GT has the identical bigger 105.0-kWh battery pack and larger rear-axle motor because the different 2025 Taycan fashions, plus a distinctive pulse inverter made out of extra environment friendly silicon carbide. The Turbo GT’s inverter has a 900-amp present, a rise of 300 amps over a Turbo S, and the two-speed transmission’s ratio has additionally been revised.
So individuals know you’re not simply driving a standard Taycan, the Turbo GT has a singular aero package deal and different particular design particulars. There’s a brand new entrance splitter with a decrease air dam, thick aero blades forward of the entrance wheels and aft of the rear wheels, a Gurney flap on the lively rear spoiler, and a deeper rear diffuser. Add the Weissach Package deal, a no-cost choice, and also you get a set carbon-fiber rear wing, underbody air deflectors and useful entrance fender vents. Different visible modifications embody Victory Gold brake calipers, light-weight 21-inch wheels and plenty of black and carbon-fiber trim. Purple Sky Metallic is a brand new colour that’s completely wonderful, and you can also and may spend $11,400 on an superior shiny blue full-body wrap.
We exit on observe three at a time, with one in every of Porsche’s drivers main in a Taycan Turbo S sedan, after which two journalists following in tandem, swapping between second and third place midway via our session of eight laps. I begin out within the center automobile, a “customary” Turbo GT in Pale Blue Metallic. Like all different Taycans, the Turbo GT is great from the second I set off. The steering is laser sharp and stuffed with suggestions, and the rear-axle steering and brake-based torque vectoring are seamless. It’s straightforward to make fast, minor corrections with out the automobile getting unsettled. The Taycan has an actual sports activities automobile–like seating place and look at out, and also you sit actually low to the bottom — the tradeoff is a reasonably cramped cabin and compromised space for storing.
Taking on the primary third of the primary straight, Porsche arrange a slalom course with cones that we deal with at about 45 mph, after which we come to a cease between a pair of cones to check out launch management. Porsche launch management is among the many best launch management methods to function — you simply must be within the sportiest drive mode, put one foot on the brake after which press down the accelerator, after which launch the brake. The Turbo GT will hit 60 mph in a scant 2.2 seconds, a tenth faster than a Turbo S, and it does it with zero drama. There’s no wiggle beneath acceleration or perhaps a millisecond the place the tires are scrambling for traction — the Taycan simply barely hunkers down and rockets forward. Even having pushed automobiles just like the Lucid Air Sapphire and Rimac Nevera which have 0-to-60 instances within the sub-2-second vary, the Turbo GT’s acceleration takes my breath away.
The place I actually discover the Turbo GT’s further energy is above the 60-mph mark. It takes simply 6.6 seconds to succeed in 124 mph from a standstill and the quarter-mile is completed in 9.5 seconds, 1.1 seconds and 0.4 seconds faster than a Turbo S, respectively. The transmission’s shift feels much more violent than within the Turbo S, too. After gaining confidence within the first couple runs, on our ultimate launch management dash I take a fast glimpse on the digital speedo simply earlier than braking for the primary nook and see 130 mph, a staggering velocity given the comparatively brief distance — the primary straight at Monteblanco is simply over half a mile lengthy, and the Turbo GT reached that velocity utilizing simply two-thirds of it.
And man, are the brakes good. The Turbo GT has a brand new model of Porsche’s carbon-ceramic brakes which might be greater than 4 kilos lighter per nook and have higher cooling, and each 2025 Taycan is now able to 400 kW of vitality recuperation via braking, a rise of over 30 p.c. That added stopping energy is basically noticeable the more durable I stomp on the brakes. The pedal itself is good and agency and there doesn’t appear to be any fade after our sizzling laps, although the trainer does have us use the brakes as little as potential on the cool-down lap.
Porsche and Pirelli first began working collectively on the Turbo GT in 2021, with the Italian tiremaker creating new variations of the P Zero particularly for the 2025 Taycan. The usual tire is the P Zero R, whereas semi-slick street-legal P Zero Trofeo RS tires will probably be optionally available. I don’t get an opportunity to check out the Trofeos, however the P Zero Rs present greater than sufficient grip for my ability degree and there’s not a lot squeal even beneath laborious cornering.
Commonplace is Porsche’s new Lively Journey suspension system, which has hydraulic motors in every lively damper that act as anti-roll bars. Lively Journey can individually management the circulate inside every damper to immediately alter compression and rebound. (Our good friend Jason Fenske at Engineering Defined has an amazing video explaining precisely the way it works that I’ve embedded above.) There’s one nook of the observe that’s a blind right-hander with its apex on the crest of a hill, and it has extra tarmac on the exit than it appears. Even carrying plenty of velocity into the flip, Lively Journey retains the automobile flat and ensures that most drive is being utilized to every wheel always, so all 4 tires preserve their contact with the street via the complete nook — and with not one of the stomach-lifting feeling you get doing an precise soar.
After coming again into the pits, the opposite journalist and I swap automobiles so I can expertise the Weissach pack, and him the automobile with out it. This Shade Inexperienced automobile has Porsche’s full bucket seats, that are provided in Europe however received’t be obtainable within the U.S. — Porsche says they received’t cross crash exams. However U.S.-bound Weissach-pack Taycans delete the rear seats, with a carbon-fiber storage compartment and bulkhead of their place. Together with different weight-saving measures like lowered sound deadening, lighter glass and the omission of some power-operated options, the Weissach choice makes the Turbo GT 157 kilos lighter than a Turbo S. The entire Weissach’s aero bits imply downforce is as much as 485 kilos, too.
With the Weissach Package deal the Turbo GT is a tenth faster to 60 mph, a tenth faster within the quarter and two tenths faster to 124 mph. Prime velocity is raised from 180 to 190 mph. In the actual world the distinction in velocity is mainly negligible, however the Weissach’s improved aero is obvious. It’s a bit much less agile than the usual Turbo GT, however its cornering capabilities really feel sharper. The cabin can also be loads louder, and I’m capable of hear extra of the cool legit powertrain noises — and Porsche’s toggleable spaceship-y noises, which I really like.
Taking the place of the common Taycan’s push-to-pass perform is the Turbo GT unique Assault Mode, which is impressed by System E. Activated with a press of the button within the steering wheel’s drive mode dial or by pulling the paddle shifter that the Weissach fashions get, Assault Mode offers you a lift of 160 hp for as much as 10 seconds, 66 hp greater than what you get in a Turbo S. Higher but, Assault Mode can be utilized as soon as each 4 seconds, versus as soon as each ten seconds in a normal automobile. Within the pre-drive briefing, Porsche exhibits us Lars Kern’s Laguna Seca lap file with an overlay exhibiting precisely when, the place and for a way lengthy he activated Assault mode — he did it 9 instances, usually priming it mid-corner for optimum velocity at exit.
I don’t mess with it a lot on my first laps, partially as a result of I’m simply making an attempt to deal with studying the observe and being easy and partially as a result of the button might be annoying to hit shortly on the non-Weissach automobile. However in my few laps within the Weissach mannequin, I’m extra liberal with my use of Assault Mode, and it definitely makes a distinction. The paddle has satisfying motion to it, and the impact is quick. It’s kinda like when Timotheé Chalamet drinks the worm juice in “Dune: Half Two” — out of the blue his eyes glow blue and he’s much more highly effective. When Assault Mode is activated, the Taycan’s gauge cluster shows a blue countdown ring. It’s mainly the identical factor.
Whereas this transient stint isn’t sufficient to actually eke out some great benefits of the Weissach-equipped automobile, I feel it’ll enchantment to 2 completely different varieties individuals: Those that truly need to take their automobile to the observe and be as quick as potential, and those that need to stunt on automobiles and low attendees and get extra Instagram likes. For lots of Porsche GT automobile homeowners, that venn diagram is a circle, and I’m all for each camps. Automobiles just like the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and 911 GT3 RS see massive majority percentages of patrons going for the Weissach packages, and even with the rear-seat delete I feel the Taycan Turbo GT would be the identical.
Not solely will you fortunately need to drive the Taycan Turbo GT on observe, you’ll need to drive it to and from the racetrack, too. This transient observe drive has me itching to get a Turbo GT for a blast up my native mountain roads, and further street noise apart, it’ll be simply as good of a street journey automobile as an everyday Taycan. We don’t have ultimate numbers but, however the complete 2025 Taycan lineup has seen a 34-percent enhance in vary, and its fast-charging capabilities are sooner and have an improved curve, even in chilly climate. So that you’ll be capable to lap for longer, and spend even much less time juicing up between stints.
As with each different GT-branded Porsche, you’ll need to cough up a fairly penny to get your fingers on a Taycan Turbo GT — it begins at $231,995 together with vacation spot, $21,000 greater than a Turbo S, and it may possibly attain round $290,000 absolutely loaded. $250,500 will get you a Lucid Air Sapphire, which has extra vary, more room and a extra superior powertrain setup, however whereas that automobile can also be quick as hell round a observe, it isn’t fairly as pure of an expertise because the Porsche.
Round Laguna Seca, the Taycan Turbo GT is a couple of seconds faster than a Porsche 991 GT2 RS, 918 Spyder and Cayman GT4 RS race automobile, and simply three tenths off a McLaren Senna. It beat a Time Assault-prepped Tesla Mannequin S Plaid, as properly. The Turbo GT’s 7:07:55 Nürburgring file is much more spectacular — sooner than another four-door automobile, 26 seconds faster than the outdated Taycan Turbo S and solely two seconds off the Nevera’s file. It isn’t simply quick “for an EV,” it’s quick as hell, interval. And never simply quick, however genuinely good and enjoyable. If Porsche’s first effort at an electrical GT automobile is that this thrilling, I can’t wait to see what comes subsequent.
