Engage warp drive: The 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Has Been Unveiled

Just a few weeks after the launch of the updated and uprated Taycan, Porsche has released the new 1,093 bhp Turbo GT. Yes, you read that correctly. Ken Pearson takes a look at the first electric model from the Porsche GT range.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: 1,093 bhp & 0-60 mph in 2.2 seconds!

Hot on the heels of the 2024 Porsche Taycan facelift, the new Taycan Turbo GT enters the fold as the top-of-the-range model and becomes the first electric car to be crafted by the Porsche GT department. For those who thought that the 939 bhp, 1,110 nm and 162 mph-capable Turbo S wasn’t quite potent enough then this 1,093 bhp, 1,340 nm and 190 mph-capable Turbo GT should be.

The performance stats are mind-boggling but do come with a caveat; the peak power and torque outputs are only available whilst using a combination of overboost, launch control and the Formula E-style Attack Mode which increases maximum power by 161 bhp for 10 seconds at a time. Much like in the single-seat 99X Formula E racer, this is activated by pressing a button on the steering wheel, before presumably involuntarily screaming as your lungs become an integral part of your ribcage.

With all the boosting features set to their maximum, 0-62 mph takes just 2.3 seconds, 99 mph is reached in 4.5 seconds and 124 mph comes up in only 6.6 seconds. A quarter mile is said to take 9.5 seconds but the most amazing stat for me is the 49-74 mph time which is quoted at just 1.1 seconds.

The most spritely electric car that I have driven thus far - the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 with “only” 616 bhp and 950 nm available - accelerates violently from standstill and that takes a leisurely 3.5 seconds to reach 62 mph…I can only imagine the ferocity of the acceleration that the Turbo GT has to offer.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: Powertrain Technology

Without the overboost settings active, the Turbo GT can muster up 778 bhp - a slight uplift from the 764 bhp on tap in the Turbo S in “normal” use. Power is drawn from the same 97 kWh Performance Battery Plus as is fitted to the Turbo models as standard, but the powertrain has been tweaked to handle the increase in output.

A reworked rear motor features a new inverter; this is the component that switches electricity from direct current as it is stored in the battery to alternating current to be used to turn the motor and vice versa when harvesting energy. The Turbo S has a 600 amp inverter whilst the GT gets a 900 amp unit.

The transmission has been strengthened to cope with the raised output and the gear ratios for the twin-speed automatic gearbox have been altered, presumably to allow the car to reach its top speed of 180 mph - a full 18 mph faster than the Turbo S. The only area where the GT falls short compared to its stablemate is with the maximum range - Porsche is quoting up to 345 miles on the WLTP cycle, down from a maximum of 391. Rapid charging times remain the same with 18 minutes required for a 10-80% top-up at a maximum of 320 kW DC.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: Ride and Handling, Weissach Package Option

The chassis has been tweaked further and gains Porsche’s new Active Ride Suspension which has been given GT-specific tuning. This adaptive system individually controls each wheel to rapidly react to the road surface or the way that the car is being driven. It can work against the pitching and diving of heavy acceleration and deceleration and tilt into corners just like a Pendolino and Super Voyager tilting train does. It should be able to provide brilliant stability and comfort levels whether cruising or using the Attack Mode on track. The wheels can be any size you’d like as long as they’re 21” but they are available in three different designs and always shroud lightweight ceramic brakes.

The wheels and brakes are two of the many areas where weight saving has been the priority; compared to the Turbo S, the GT can be up to 75 kg lighter thanks to those forged rims, ceramic brakes, redesigned callipers, liberal use of carbon fibre for the B-pillars, mirrors, side skirts, standard-fit bucket seats and the omission of the electric soft-closing function of the boot. These weight-saving measures result in a car that still tips the scales at 2.29 tonnes, but every kilo saved boosts both performance and efficiency.

If that’s not light enough and the car still seems as though it could be a bit more track-focused, then Porsche already has an option to tick both of those boxes: the no-cost option Weissach Package. Familiar from the 911 GT3 RS, this package which is named after Porsche’s development centre shaves another 70 kg from the kerb weight dropping it down to 2.22 tonnes.

Porsche say that the weight saving for the Weissach Package was done by “eliminating all equipment not required for track driving” so the rear seats are out in favour of a roll cage and a storage compartment made of carbon fibre, naturally. The rear speakers are deleted and the car features only one charging port at the front rather than two - this is manually operated as opposed to electrically on every other Taycan facelift. Even the glass is lightened and the staple analogue clock for the Sport Chrono Package is removed in order to save a few more grams.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: Nürburgring and Laguna Seca Lap Records

The weight saving does add up with 0.1 seconds shaved off the 0-62, 0-99 and quarter mile times with these being completed in just 2.2, 6.4 and 9.4 seconds respectively. Top speed is increased from 180 mph to 190, or 28 mph faster than the Turbo S. The changes allowed a pre-production Turbo GT with the Weissach Package to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 7.55 seconds - an amazing 26 seconds quicker than the Turbo S managed in 2022.

The car has also set the production EV lap record at Laguna Seca, completing the 2.23-mile course in only 1 minute and 27.87 seconds. I’d highly recommend watching the onboard footage of that record run - it looks mesmerizingly quick.

The on track performance is aided by the car’s focused aerodynamics. Porsche has added a new front splitter to the Turbo GT along with a reprofiled rear wing which on both models features an enlarged Gurney flap on the trailing edge. This is electrically adjustable on the Turbo GT, whereas on Weissach Package models, it plays host to the standing fixed rear wing which appears to be as wide as the car’s LED rear light bar and can generate up to 220 kg of downforce. Personally, I prefer the look of the “regular” (if we can call it that) Turbo GT with its slightly more discreet appearance.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: Styling and Interior Enhancements

Whilst lots of changes have taken place under and above the skin, the interior remains relatively untouched. Carbon fibre bucket seats are standard equipment but can be switched for electrically adjustable seats if desired. The digital-focussed cockpit maintains a curved display for the driver, one for the infotainment and one for the air conditioning controls and a passenger display is once again optionally available.

However, with the lightweight, maximum performance ethos of the GT models, it almost seems wrong to me to option in a lot of the weight that has been removed to make the car as quick as it is. One change that I have spotted is a new steering wheel with what appear to be paddles to adjust the energy recovery levels - something that I haven’t seen on any other Taycan to date. This is a welcome addition as I personally deem them to be essential for any EV - not just performance ones - and find adjusting regen on the fly crucial for making swift and enjoyable progress along the road.

It’s great to finally see the ultimate version of the Taycan which has been spotted testing in prototype form multiple times over the last year, including with a tongue-in-cheek TDI badge placed on the rear bumper. It is said that work began on this variant only 18 months after the Taycan was first released and that the performance required the very latest technology to attain, so it made sense to wait for the facelift model to arrive before introducing it.

On the surface, it looks like the extended gestation period has paid off and the new Taycan Turbo GT is emphatically the highest-performing version of the Taycan range, rather than a Turbo S with even more overboost. The model range is not yet complete though and whilst we now have the track performance-focussed Turbo GT, the road-use driver-oriented GTS model is yet to be unveiled. We can safely assume that we will see this before the year is out though.

The new Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is on sale now with prices starting at £186,300, a healthy £24,900 more than the Turbo S. The Weissach Package is a no-cost option and a Ken-spec Turbo GT in one of my favourite Mercedes-Benz colours of South Seas Blue metallic (thanks to Porsche Paint to Sample) comes in at £208,894 with nearly every option box ticked, apart from the passenger display screen.

That’s only around £3,000 more than a Ken-spec Turbo S so I see it as quite good value in that regard. I’m expecting deliveries to begin shortly after the first facelifted Taycans reach our shores in the spring. If you see a flash of metal warping past you at what seems to be the speed of light later this year, there’s a good chance that it will be the most powerful Porsche road car ever made.

Specifications: Porsche Taycan Turbo GT [Weissach Package]

Drivetrain: Twin electric motor, all-wheel drive

Transmission: single-speed (front motor), two-speed (rear motor) automatic

Battery: Lithium-ion, 97 kWh (usable)

WLTP range: up to 344 miles

Rapid charge time: 18 minutes (10-80% at up to 320 kW DC)

Continuous output: 778 bhp

Maximum output: 1,093 bhp, 1,340 nm (with launch control, overboost and Attack Mode)

Acceleration - 0-62 mph: 2.3 seconds [2.2 seconds]*

Acceleration - 0-99 mph: 4.5 seconds [4.4 seconds]*

Acceleration - 0-124 mph: 6.6 seconds [6.4 seconds]*

Quarter mile: 9.5 seconds [9.4 seconds]*