Porsche Taycan Turbo GT revealed with 815kW

The 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT has been revealed in all its glory and the most extreme Porsche EV ever is backed by some serious performance numbers to justify its place at the top of the facelifted MY24 Taycan electric sedan range.

Confirmed for Australian arrival in mid-2024, the first Taycan Turbo GT will be priced at $416,600 plus on-road costs – $42,400 more than the upgraded 700kW MY24 Porsche Taycan Turbo S ($374,200 plus ORCs) – and the lightweight two-seat Weissach version will be a no-cost option.

But while lesser versions of the upgraded Taycan sports sedan will offer a range of up to 587km, Porsche’s new flagship EV will be the most powerful production Porsche ever up to 815kW of peak power and 1340Nm of torque with launch control.

No range figure has been give, but combined with a 75kg weight reduction over the Taycan Turbo S, the German performance car maker says that will accelerate the new GT flagship to 100km/h in just 2.3 seconds, making it one of the quickest production cars ever produced.

Fitted with the even-lighter Weissach package, the Turbo GT is claimed to hit 100km/h in just 2.2sec (0.2sec quicker than the Turbo S), 200km/h in only 6.4sec (1.3sec sooner than the Turbo S) and top speed of 305km/h – up from 290km/h for the standard GT.

For reference, Rimac Nevera electric supercar is said to hit 100km/h in 1.82sec, the Pininfarina Battista supercar in 1.89sec, the Lucid Air Sapphire sedan in 1.95sec and the discontinued Telsa Model Plaid sedan in 2.1sec.

Both the Taycan Turbo GT and Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package produce 580kW as standard, increasing to 760kW of overboost power with launch control and up to 815kW of peak power for two seconds.

But the “most dynamic Taycan of all time” is no lead-tipped arrow. It has already set a new production electric sedan lap record at the Nurburgring, of 7:07.55, just two seconds slower than the 1408kW Nevera’s 7:05 benchmark at the notorious 20.6km road course, but 28sec faster than the 760kW Plaid and 26sec faster than the previous 560kW Taycan Turbo S.

For the record, the Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar holds the production car lap record at the Nurburgring (6:30.705) and the fastest Porsche is the 991.2-series 911 GT2 RS (6:47.25), followed by the latest 992.1-series 911 GT3 RS at 6:49.328.

Just for good measure, the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package also became the fastest electric production car to lap the Laguna Seca Raceway in California on February 23, with a time of 1:27.87.

As expected, the new Taycan Turbo GT emerges with a huge rear wing and fresh rear air intake, plus a revised front bumper with large splitter and the redesigned headlights seen on mainstream MY24 variants.

The key to its higher-performance dual-motor powertrain is the use of silicon carbide semiconductor material for the pulse inverter that controls the rear axle-mounted motor. The more powerful and efficient pulse inverter has a maximum current of 900 amps – up from 600A in the Turbo S – and to cope with the extra torque, Porsche says “the transmission ratio and the robustness of the gearbox have also been improved”.

In Attack Mode, it provides a short 120kW boost of extra power for up to 10 seconds at the press of a button – 50kW more than the push-to-pass function in other Taycan models.

Similar to the boost mode system seen in the Porsche 99X race cars competing in the FIA Formula E World Championship, boost availability is indicated by a countdown timer in the instrument cluster and animated rings on the speedo.

To activate Attack Mode, drivers can either push a button on the side of the steering wheel boss or simply pull the right right-hand paddle.

To reduce the kerb weight of the Turbo S by 75kg, Porsche has made extensive use of carbon-fibre, including the B-pillar trims, side skirt inlays and door mirror shells, while CFRP full bucket front seats are fitted and the electric soft-close bootlid function is deleted.

The standard Porsche Active Ride suspension has GT-specific tuning and other features include 21-inch lightweight forged wheels and 2kg-lighter Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB) system with Victory Gold callipers.

A unique front spoiler with aero blades is matched with an adaptive rear spoiler with a rear Gurney flap in high-gloss carbon-weave finish, and other highlights include high-gloss black side window surrounds, a matt-black GT logo on the rear lid and six exterior paint colours including the exclusive new Pale Blue Metallic and Purple Sky Metallic (available for one year only).

Further Paint to Sample options are available via Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, as well as Taycan decals for the lower doors and bonnet, in either matt Volt Blue or Black or high-gloss Black.

Inside, the Race-Tex trimmed full bucket seats can be ditched for optional adaptive sports front seats Plus with 18-way power adjustment and memory, while a Turbo GT logos is embroidered on the front head restraints, there’s a GT badge below the climate control panel, contrasting Volt Blue or GT Silver highlights are optional, the GT sports steering wheel is clad in black Race-Tex and has a 12 o'clock marking.

The track-focussed Weissach package adds a new front diffuser, additional air deflector elements for the underbody and a fixed rear wing in a carbon-weave finish adding up to 220kg of downforce and featuring the Weissach logo at either end. A striped wrap in Volt Blue, Black or matt Black will also be available.

Saving about another 70kg over the standard Turbo GT, the Weissach pack deletes the rear seats and replaces them with “a tailor-made, high-quality lightweight carbon cladding with a storage compartment behind the seat shells for the driver and front passenger”.

Also axed are the analogue clock from the Sport Chrono package, the floor mats, the driver’s side charge port (now passenger side only, with manual flap opening) and some sound-deadening material, while special sound and heat insulating glass plus the Sound Package Plus also save weight, eliminating the rear speakers and replacing the BOSE Surround Sound system.

In Australia, the new Taycan Turbo GT and Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package will be additionally fitted with a tyre fit set and digital radio, and other standard features will include Lane Change Assist, ParkAssist including Surround View, Head-Up Display and side airbags in rear compartment.

No-cost options, meantime, will comprise a panoramic fixed glass roof, adaptive cruise control, front and rear seat heating, and comfort package floor mats.