Even though I like to think I'm not old (my morning joint pains beg to differ), I'm old enough to remember the time people outside of the USA were skeptical of automatic transmissions taking over the stick shifts, particularly in sports cars.
Have a look at the scenery now: you'll be hard-pressed to find a vehicle that identifies by that description and still comes with a manual. Some offer it as an option - how the tables have turned - while others simply think you're too lousy at shifting gears and wouldn't be able to make the most of that engine on your own, so the gearbox will do it for you.
We're witnessing now a similar controversy surrounding the very nature of the powertrain, where the internal combustion engine is the manual transmission and the battery-powered electric motor is the automatic one. Depending on who you ask, the outcome of this one hasn't been decided yet, but the verdict seems to be closer and closer.
There is a very strong argument to be made for EVs - for one, just look at how the air quality improved in urban areas due to the time-out we took these past weeks; with electrics, we could have that every day - but there will always be that one argument regarding their abilities on a racing track. Well, it'll take more than one video or comparison to change people's minds, but this one right here (well, slightly below) is a good start.
Not the perfect one since the Porsche Taycan Turbo S isn't going against a gas-powered sports car per se. The 2020 BMW M8 Gran Coupé isn't short on power (625 hp) and is blindingly quick (3.1 seconds to 62 mph or 100 km/h), but it's also large and heavy (4,288 lbs or 1,945 kg). That's a lot, but it's less than what its competitor for the day weighs.
Looking at the Taycan and not knowing anything about EVs, you'd think it was light as a swan's feather. The color matches, too. It looks like something derived from NASA's shuttle program. It really does appear like it's only missing its wings to take four people up into the stratosphere. But it would have to do it while having 5,156 pounds (2,339 kilograms) in a constant fight with gravity even before any of those would-be astronauts ever set foot in the vehicle.
This, then, is a fight between behemoths. The guys at Auto Bild took them on the Lausitzring in Germany and timed hot laps for each of the contestants. We won't spoil it, but let's just say they came second and third in the list of cars they've tested there, framed by the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S with different tire options at each end. Not bad for two non-sports-cars.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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