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.
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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.
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Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo - The latest, V6-powered GranTurismo is now available in open-top form. Is its combination of performance, comfort and style a winning one?
How appropriate for a car that includes a variant called 'Folgore' ('Lightning' in Italian) in its line-up that giant forks of the stuff are straddling the road ahead. It's almost as if Maserati has a direct line to the big man upstairs. Then again, giant hailstones are clattering against the fabric roof as well, and then turn to a deluge of water so heavy that to top 15mph feels reckless. Possibly not the environment the Italian firm had in mind when they chose to launch the new GranCabrio Trofeo around the Italian Lakes. Still, if nothing else it's a stern test of the canvas above my head and one that it passes with ease: there are no puddles forming inside, as you would expect of a £169,585 convertible, and it feels as quiet and snug as if I was driving the GranTurismo coupe.
Cupra Formentor Abt
It's farewell to the original Cupra Formentor with an Abt-tuned run-out package. It's a quietly excellent car; just a shame about the price...
Renault Sport Clio 200 Turbo
This misguided departure from the French brand's hot hatch heritage saw the Clio fall from grace
REBIRTH OF AN ICON
The Kalmar 9X9 is a modernday reinterpretation of Porsche's game-changing 959 supercar, with a carbon body and up to 917bhp. And evo is helping to develop it
Volkswagen Golf GTI
The underachieving Mk8 GTI gets a shot at redemption with the new, revised Mk8.5 version. Is it the leap forward it needs to be?
BEST BUYS
FAST FORDS FROM THE CORTINA TO THE ESCORT AND THE FIESTA, Ford is responsible for some of the most popular cars in British history. But alongside these everyday machines it has also produced a stream of desirable driver's cars.
HY AND DRY
The switch to electric power means an early exit for Hyundai N's brilliant ICE hot hatch duo. We go for a farewell drive in the 120 N
SEXY BEAST
The Vanquish name is back for Aston Martin's latest seriesproduction flagship, with a stunning new look and simply brutal performance from an 824bhp twin-turbo V12
THE JOY OF DRIVING
From mastering the everyday commute to unlocking the full potential of your performance car, our new series will help you become safer, more confident and ultimately more skilled behind the wheel
TINY DANCER
You haven't seen a Mini dance like this before, but then you haven't seen a Mini with a 4-litre M Power V8 under the bonnet and rear-wheel drive. Introducing Vini...