Road test: Driving the electric Porsche Taycan – world’s fastest four-door car – in Spain

No other car manufacturer has clung as doggedly to its roots as Porsche. How else could one describe a marque that rolled out a rear-engined sports car (theoretically an imbalanced format) more than 75 years ago, and still adheres to this layout even in its latest 911 models?

While Porsche hasn’t deviated from the playbook with the 911, the Stuttgart carmaker hasn’t been averse to breaking the mould in other segments. The Cayenne and Macan SUVs were the first signs of diversification, but the electrified Taycan was an even bigger leap of faith for a company renowned for its characterful combustion engines.

The leap has paid off, though, as the Taycan has racked up 150,000 global sales since it launched four years ago. Even so, Porsche has sharpened its game with the updated 2024 Taycan models, which eke out more power, offer extended touring range and charge faster than before.

As before, there are sedan, Sport Turismo and Cross Turismo variants, with a choice of four electrified power trains, and rear-drive and all-wheel-drive formats on offer.

Fully electrified and digitised it may be, but the Taycan comes as close as imaginable to mimicking the tactility and dynamism of a 911. In fact, the new Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package is backed by stats that comfortably eclipse any of its petrol-powered siblings.

The Turbo GT’s outputs of 1,108hp and 1,340Nm are plain bonkers, but it’s not merely a straight-line bully as the Weissach-equipped model clocked a scorching 7min 7.55sec lap at the Nurburgring Nordschleife – the auto industry’s default circuit for benchmarking. This stat makes it not only the EV record-holder at the daunting Nordschleife, but also the world’s most rapid four-door, regardless of propulsion source.

Even the base model Taycan (with a single electric motor) is decently rapid, dispatching the 0 to 100kph sprint in 4.8 seconds – 0.6 seconds quicker than its predecessor. The Taycan Turbo S halves this split, sprinting 100kph in an eye-watering 2.4 seconds (0.4 seconds quicker than before).

Also notable is that the base model Taycan with optional Performance Battery Plus, can travel up to 678km on a full charge, which is 175km more than before. The battery has a recharging capacity of up to 320kW, which means an 18-minute zap can take its state of charge from 10 per cent to 80 per cent.

Numbers are all well and good, but arguably more impressive is how Porsche has imbued a car heavy on bytes and electronics to respond with textured feedback and tactility that comes close to the brand’s petrol-powered models. It’s a stark contrast to the PlayStation-esque driving experience served up by the vast majority of high-performance EVs.

The National travelled to Seville for the international launch of the 2024 Taycan line-up, and the first part of our drive programme comprised a road loop in a Turbo S. For a car that’s electrifyingly rapid, the Turbo S is remarkably docile and cosseting at around-town speeds.

Obviously, there’s no combustion engine emitting noise – a synthesised soundtrack can be activated to substitute for this – so in stealth mode the Taycan serves up Rolls-Royce levels of pin-drop silence.

Even ride quality is decently compliant considering the Taycan’s extreme dynamism when prodded. This is particularly so if the car is equipped with Porsche Active Ride (optional in all-wheel-drive models), which uses a hydraulic pump at each corner, individually controlling the travel of each wheel to make for uncannily flat cornering capabilities, yet not at the cost of a bone-jarring ride.

A subsequent track session in Spain’s Circuito Monteblanco in the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package proves a surreal experience as it’s similar yet starkly different to the Panamera Turbo that we drove at the same track a few weeks earlier.

Although ultimately not as rewarding to thrash as its V8-powered sibling – due to the absence of a sonorous exhaust note and sensation of revs rising and falling – the stealthy Taycan Turbo GT is discernibly more rapid. Even the digitised feedback relayed via the steering, throttle and brake pedal feels remarkably authentic.

Taycan pricing in the UAE starts at Dh416,300 for the base model, rising to Dh481,700 for the Taycan 4S and Dh928,400 for the Taycan Turbo GT flagship. It’s no bargain-basement special, yet Porsche’s battery blaster still offers plenty of (silent) bang for your buck.