Gasoline Stomps Electricity in Porsche Taycan Turbo S VS. McLaren P1 Drag Race
Not all is lost for the internal combustion engine.
Manufacturers claim all sorts of wild zero to 62-mile-per-hour times that are rather hard to replicate in the real world on a so-called average morning. What's for sure is that back in 2013, the McLaren P1 appeared as the lightest of the hybrid hypercar trio (think LaFerrari and Porsche 918) as well as the fastest road car Woking had built up until that point. Another attribute of McLarens in general that I can confirm is that they are usually quicker off the line than they should be according to the specs. Clever traction control programming and how the suspension handles the weight transfer can make even an entry-level Sport Series out-drag all-wheel-drive cars that just shouldn't be beaten over such short distances.
McLaren's first Series Production prototype P1, the volcano yellow SP1 signed by designer Frank Shephenson himself is just as much of a weapon as it was at its debut seven years go. Yet while McLaren claims a zero to 62 mph time of 2.8 seconds, Lovecars found that on a dry day and on a slippery surface driven by British GT racer Graham Davidson, it will "only" reach 62 mph in 3.65 seconds.
The all-black Taycan Turbo S is a much younger proposition, being a 2020 model with all-wheel-drive provided by a pair of permanent magnet motors producing a total of 761 horsepower. The fastest Taycan also comes with a two-speed gearbox, something that helps it out-drag a Tesla Model S P100D in Ludicrous mode.
What's more, Porsche is known to play it conservatively with its official acceleration quotes, making us wonder how close the Taycan Turbo S can be to that official 2.8 second figure while dealing with a curb weight of 5,225 pounds. Mind you, Porsche's flagship EV also packs 774 foot-pounds of torque right from the start, while the P1 needs to rev to 4,000 rpm for 664 ft-lb.
Wait no more, the answer is here:
Despite the Porsche reaching 62 mph in just 2.7 seconds, once the 3,284-pound McLaren's 3.8-liter V8 hybrid powertrain spools up to produce its full 916 horsepower, the Taycan Turbo S has nothing for the P1's acceleration. Woking's hypercar is already quicker at the quarter-mile mark, only to reach a gate speed of 149.8 miles per hour as it crosses the line some 22.3 mph faster than the slippery Porsche.
On the plus side, the Taycan can seat four.
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