Spy shot of the 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
Porsche has again been spotted testing a prototype of the Taycan, which incorporates elements typically found in the company's GT sports cars.
We previously published spy shots of a prototype of an updated version of the Taycan, which should appear later this year, at the midpoint of the electric sedan and electric wagon's life cycle. However, the prototype just unveiled is very different from that one.
New aerodynamic elements such as the extended front splitter, chunky side skirts, rear diffuser, and rear wing are hard to miss. The front air curtains are also sealed, suggesting that the prototype may feature active shutters and new air channels hidden behind the front mask.
It also suggests that this prototype is a variant of the new high-performance Taycan, and Lars Kern has been seen behind the wheel on occasion, including at previous Nürburgring tests. He is a Porsche hot shoe responsible for many of the official lap times at the Nürburgring and was also the driver of the Taycan Turbo S, which set a time of 7:33.35 on the German race track in the summer. This time is more than two seconds faster than the time set by the more powerful Tesla Model S Plaid and is the current production EV record at the Ring.
In addition, the engineers added a "TDI" badge to the trunk lid for a bit of fun. [Porsche has not mentioned whether it plans to introduce a faster version of the Taycan, although there are rumors of a more powerful three-motor model designed to rival not only the Tesla Plaid but also the Lucid Air Sapphire and other EVs with four-digit horsepower. Such a variant could be badged the Taycan Turbo GT, similar to the Cayenne Turbo GT grade.
Performance of the Taycan currently tops out at the Turbo S grade, with output of 616 hp (temporarily 750 hp), 0-60 mph acceleration in 2.6 seconds, and a top speed of around 162 mph.
Rumors suggest that the range-topper grade of the new Taycan could have as much as 1,000 hp, which would reduce the 0-60 time to nearly 2.0 seconds and may increase the top speed to around 200 mph. Stay tuned.
