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First Drive: Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT aims to push EV performance to the extreme

Thinking Porsche’s already-speedy Taycan Turbo isn’t quite quick enough? Here’s the solution – the Turbo GT. Jack Evans drives it.

By contributor Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter
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Supporting image for story: First Drive: Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT aims to push EV performance to the extreme
The Turbo GT tops the Taycan range

What is it?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
The Turbo GT takes Taycan performance up a notch

The Taycan Turbo S is no slouch, of course, but what if you’d like your EV to go even quicker or offer even more absurd levels of performance? That’s where this car – the Taycan Turbo GT – comes into play. We’ve been driving it.

What’s new?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
A huge rear wing comes via the Weissach package

As with other Porsche models, a Weissach package is available for the Turbo GT, bringing even more performance-focused features, including a large rear wing that helps the car generate up to 220kg of downforce. It’s also the model we’re driving here.

What’s under the bonnet?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
Fortunately, the Taycan can accept a very fast rate of charge

Despite this, Porsche says that you should still get up to 343 miles from a full charge of the Taycan’s large 97kWh battery. That said, expect the range to dwindle if you repeatedly make use of all of this car’s power. However, given that the Taycan can accept a super-speedy charge rate of 320kW, you could get a 10 to 80 per cent charge sorted in around 18 minutes if you find an ultra-rapid unit.

What’s it like to drive?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
The Turbo GT’s clever suspension allows it to glide along the road

The only downside is that you lose much of the refinement that you’d get from a regular Taycan. With the rear seats removed, the Turbo GT is a far louder, more raucous affair, though, given it’s aiming to be the wildest Taycan to date, you can forgive it this.

How does it look?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
The Turbo GT brings a huge amount of performance

You get 21-inch lightweight forged alloy wheels on cars with the Weissach Package, too, and you can get these finished in a range of colours to help personalise things further.

What’s it like inside?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
There’s a delightfully thin-rimmed steering wheel

The steering wheel is pleasantly thin, too, and a welcome change to other chunkier versions that you’ll find on many of the Taycan’s rivals. It’s equipped with easy-to-use dials for the drive and suspension settings, too.

What’s the spec like?

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
The rear seats are removed to make the Taycan lighter

You do get loads of standard features, too, including that pleasant multifunction steering wheel, an advanced climate control system and rapid wireless smartphone charging. You’d expect to get these features included, given the car’s price, mind you.

Verdict

For most people, the standard Taycan Turbo S will be more than quick enough. You get rear seats and it’ll be an overall more comfortable – yet still rapid – way to get around. But that does miss the point of this go-faster GT version.

With the Weissach Package, the Turbo GT taps into an almost futuristic level of speed and one which is scarcely believable when you first try it out. As a technological breakthrough, the Turbo GT really is something to marvel and that’s what makes this car truly impressive.