WE'RE APPROACHING THE FAST, UPHILL Turn 12 of the Monteblanco circuit in southern Spain in the Taycan Turbo GT.
I'm riding shotgun with Lars Kern, the Porsche factory driver who took this car around the Nürburgring in 7min 07sec last year. He shouts across: 'At first I wasn't convinced by the Active Ride suspension. Host pretty much all feeling for the car, and it didn't give me what I needed on track. We're still accelerating.
At what feels like the point of no return, I lunge for the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger footwell. A heartbeat later Kern finally eases off, but not by much, and turns in hard towards the apex. I'm sucked down into the Taycan's carbon seat through the compression, then slammed into the backrest as we launch over the crest under full power. The car goes light but Kern stays committed, and climbs all over the exit kerb at an indicated 175kph (108mph). 'After going through a few iterations of the suspension, I now have full confidence in the package. It allows me to push the car to the absolute limit.
It's hard to argue with that...
The Turbo GT is a new, very different kind of Taycan. Porsche's first EV shifted our perspective on what kind of poise, precision and ability an electric car could deliver when it arrived in 2019, but this track-prepared flagship explores the very extremes of what the platform is capable of. In some ways, the results are spectacular, but why the GT exists - and precisely who it's for - is a little more complicated.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Evo UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Evo UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
