2020 Porsche 911 vs. 2020 Porsche Taycan: Efficiency previous vs. efficiency future

Look left, you’re in the correct place. 

Even earlier than you’ve set off, Porsche has a manner of telling you that one thing’s totally different—an ignition on the left aspect is one among many distinctive options about Porsche. 

The steering wheel fills most of your palms however its diameter is just a bit smaller than you would possibly anticipate. Porsche didn’t invent the steering wheel-mounted drive selector knob—the primary utility was the 918 Spyder in 2013—however it perfected it. It clicks by way of Sport and Sport+ applications with the precision of a bolt-action rifle. The gear selector—PDK or guide—has that very same rifle really feel with simply as a lot lethal power.

Porsche buttons are like the remainder of its vehicles: exact, assured, tactile, and intuitive. 

Two particularly seize our consideration. 

Each new for 2020, the 2020 Porsche 911 and 2020 Porsche Taycan share greater than low-slung seats, modern exteriors, and the crest from Stuttgart on their hoods. 

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo first drive

The 2 sports activities vehicles couldn’t be additional aside in powertrains and energy supply, however the two go hand-in-hand in partaking drivers and sparking imaginations. 

For now, each new fashions can be found on reverse ends of the Porsche luxurious and value spectrum. (That spectrum is six figures, by the best way.) 

When each lineups are full, we anticipate there will probably be overlap in value and maybe curiosity: the 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo prices greater than $150,000, which is roughly the identical value for the outgoing Porsche 911 Turbo. (The 911 Turbo prices greater than $160,000, however what’s one other 10 grand whenever you’re in that form of rarefied air?)

The 2 compete not just for consumers but in addition for minds. 

Does Porsche in your thoughts imply rear-engined with a growling flat-6? Purists and anybody born earlier than 1980 would possible agree. 

For a brand new era, Porsche’s crossovers take the fore. A Cayenne or Macan might be the primary picture—not a 911—when Porsche comes up. An all-electric Porsche to these followers isn’t heresy, it’s evolution. 

There may be room for the 911 and the Taycan, however Porsche Thunderdome calls for a winner. 

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo first drive

Efficiency

Heads up, Porsche purists: This subsequent half goes to sting. 

The Porsche Taycan is a greater performer—apples to apples—and that requires us to dip into 991.2 efficiency. (The 992 could also be a greater performer in high trims, however Porsche hasn’t but detailed these vehicles.)

The Porsche Taycan Turbo and Turbo S sprint to 60 mph in three seconds or much less, emphasis on “much less.” The Taycan’s launch management propels ahead with a lot power and drama that it’s laborious to think about the place Porsche might enhance with the 992 Turbo. Regardless of the Taycan Turbo’s identify, there aren’t any turbochargers on an electrical motor. The electrical motors of the Taycan Turbo S ship greater than 750 pound-feet of torque by way of extensive, sticky 305-mm Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires on the rear. The Taycan Turbo S shoots ahead so shortly, with a lot violence, that it’s laborious to think about how efficiency with out electrification is feasible any further. 

In fact, the 992 Turbo S could very effectively use electrical motors to launch quicker—and it very effectively might, contemplating the 911’s significance to Porsche—however for now the Taycan is the faster of the 2. 

2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, Valencia, Spain, January 2019

From there, efficiency blurs. Each the 911 and the Taycan profit from electronics that hold each secure in a nook. Within the 911’s case, it’s the programming that overcomes an inherently flawed engine placement. Within the Taycan, it’s the electronics and chassis controls that hold greater than 5,100 kilos planted on terra firma. 

The Taycan’s dealing with is supreme. Regardless of driving on 20- or 21-inch wheels, the agency suspension by no means crashes or jounces by way of uneven roads. The Taycan’s heft is all the time obvious however Porsche has a manner of turning it into an asset—not a threat. The thick Taycan squats and pivots from one nook to the following, diving in with repeatable predictability that solely Porsche might ship. The mass feels prefer it has consequence, the Taycan tucks a shoulder into every nook like a boxer sticking and transferring round their opponent. 

The 911 does the identical. It carves an ideal arc by way of every nook, and regardless of its choice to ship solely as much as 39 p.c of its energy to the entrance wheels (in 4S configuration) the 911 claws and finds grip in each nook. It’s laborious to overcook a nook: the 911 simply finds a manner. 

Acceleration: Taycan. Nimbleness: 911. Edge? Taycan. 

2020 Porsche 911 Carrera

Type

The 2020 Porsche 911 wins due to course it does. Verify again in 55 years and possibly the Taycan may have a shot. 

The 2 aren’t dramatically totally different in type. The Taycan borrows liberally from the 911’s playbook from the entrance doorways ahead however swells across the entrance fenders and has a better nostril. The 911’s entrance is sleeker, however the Taycan’s headlights and surrounding components are sharper—together with fangs that wrap across the headlights and level down towards the splitter. 

From the entrance doorways again, the 911 nails the sports activities coupe look with an effectivity that may solely come from 55 years of observe. 

The rear window, tail, engine placement, and swollen rear tires of the 911 are good. The Taycan’s isn’t unhealthy—however it could’t be a 911 by design. 

The Taycan’s rear doorways aren’t a nuisance, the door cutouts are effectively forward of the rear wheels, and the Taycan hits the “911 sedan” thought higher than the late 1980s 989 prototype ever did because of tidier proportions. 

The Taycan hides its sedan creds and trunk higher than we imagined, the rear decklid is abbreviated and sharp, with a spoiler that raises and lowers at velocity. 

The 911 is gorgeous. We will’t argue with any of it, so we gained’t. We are going to indulge you with small particulars past one: the hassle to envelop the rear wheels with an unbending curve within the rear fender is gracious and exquisite. It’s good. 

So is the 911. Winner? 911.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo first drive

Total

It’s a tie, at the very least till now. 

However we are able to’t have a tie. The Taycan and 911 demand our endurance and a focus. We might simply stroll away and say that “drivers win with both,” however that’s a cop-out. 

A workers straw ballot netted zilch: We have been equally break up. 

Who wins? The heritage 911 or the future-focused Taycan? In the long run, it’s the on a regular basis livability of the Taycan and zero-emissions powertrain. 

We love the 911, however virtually universally, our solutions have been “an previous 911 and a brand new Taycan,” which speaks extra to our future as automotive lovers. 

The Taycan’s efficiency meets or exceeds the 911 for now, and its powertrain is best geared up for the long run.

From there, the Taycan’s upside appears limitless. 

We’re not turning our backs on the previous; we’re waiting for the long run.