Taycan Turbo GT officially becomes the most powerful Porsche ever made. Image: Porsche
Just over a month after affording the Taycan with its first mid-life refresh, Porsche introduced a new flagship variant that officially becomes the most powerful production road car it has ever made.
Adopting the Turbo GT moniker from the Cayenne Coupe, the Taycan Turbo GT not only becomes Stuttgart’s first model to breach the 1 000 pferdestarke (PS) or 735 kW mark, but also the new lap record holder for EVs at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a time of seven min 07:55 seconds, or 26 seconds faster than the Taycan Turbo.
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Although based on the latter, the Turbo GT has been significantly and some places, dramatically, altered in an attempt to make it faster than the 918 Spyder.
Externally, the visual alterations comprise model specific 21-inch forged alloy lightweight wheels, standard Matrix or optional Matrix HD LED headlights, carbon fibre on the B-pillar, door mirrors and at the base of the doors, and what Porsche calls aeroblades on the front carbon splitter.
In conjunction the carbon touches inside, the Taycan Turbo GT tips the scales at a claimed 75 kg lighter than the Turbo, with further additions comprising a carbon rear diffuser, a Gurney flap made out of carbon weave on the bootlid and removal of the electrical mechanism for the bootlid.
The most dramatic addition though is the optional Weissach package Porsche says trims a further 70 kg off the “standard’ Turbo GT’s weight.
Aesthetically, this involves the Gurney flap making way for a fixed carbon fibre rear wing that works in unison with the front carbon splitter and side skirts to generate 220 kg of downforce.
At the same time, buyers are also privy to a striped wrap in three colours; black, Matte Black and Volt Blue as part of a colour chart Porsche has reworked to include two new options; Pale Blue Metallic and Purple Sky Metallic.
Inside, the Taycan Turbo GT’s weight loss is more apparent as besides the mentioned carbon fibre fittings, the standard seats have been replaced by the carbon bucket chairs, the GT Sport steering included complete with a 12 o’clock marking, and the Sport Chrono package from the Turbo carried over.
While the adaptive sport seats plus with electric adjustability can still be fitted as a no-cost option, inserts in GT Silver or Volt Blue are unique to the Turbo GT as options, with the final addition being Turbo GT embroidered front headrests.
As with the exterior, opting for the Weissach package brings more extreme fixtures, namely the removal of the Bose sound system, the clock from the Sport Chrono package, some of the sound deadening materials and even the floor mats, plus the mechanism that electrically flicks the charging door flap open.
Model honed sound and heat insulating glass rounds the package off, together with a unique sound package in place of the Bose audio.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Taycan Turbo GT’s chassis has not been changed extensively to cope with the added power, though the Active Ride suspension has been retuned with a specific GT setup and the brakes upgraded to the otherwise optional Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes identified by the Victory Gold painted calipers.
Unsurprisingly, the focal point is the electric powertrain that produces the same 580 kW as the Taycan Turbo.
Tweaked with a more powerful pulse inverter capable of sending as much as 900-amps to the rear axle, power increases to 760 kW with the launch control activated.
If still not enough, a so-called Attack Mode adds a further 120 kW for 10 seconds as part of the push-to-past system derived from Porsche’s participation in Formula E.
When used in conjunction with the launch control though, the Taycan Turbo GT produces a combined 815kW/1 340Nm, albeit for a mere two seconds.
This translates to a top speed of 290 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 2.3 seconds and 0-200 km/h in 6.6 seconds. With the Weissach package, the v-max increases to 305 km/h, 0-100 km/h drops to 2.2 seconds and the 0-200 km/h sprint is cut by two-tenths to 6.4 seconds.
Regardless of Weissach’s presence or not, Porsche claims the Taycan Turbo GT will travel 555 km before needing a visit to the plug.
Although set to go on-sale in key markets from the third quarter of the year, the Taycan Turbo GT will only arrive on South African soil in 2025 with order books now open.
Porsche South Africa has also confirmed both the standard and Weissach will be available priced at R5 765 000 respectively.
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