HAGERTY's Taycan vs 911 review - by Henry Catchpole

[Manyana]

Would like to hear your thoughts on that switch once the T is in.

Me too!

 

[Novaman]

I just can't bring myself to turn in my 911S for a Taycan- keep going back and forth...... (I know I know- why not keep both?) Try explaining that to my wife!

 

[Dee]

I think it's silly to compare a 911 to a Taycan.
1. A 911 is a thoroughbred sportscar, the Taycan isn't.
2. The Taycan is electric, a 911 isn't.
3. A Taycan is heavy, a 911 is much lighter.
4. A Taycan can carry 4-5 people with luggage, a 911 only 2 (or you just don't love your kids).
5. If you compare a Taycan to a 911 it means it's a compliment for the Taycan, not the other way around.
6. Stop this bullshit. ?

 

[Mookow]

I have a 992 Turbo S and a Taycan GTS. On the back roads they're closer than folks want to admit, and I doubt anyone that is dug in will stop denying that. I haven't tracked my Taycan so I can't say how it compares there, but for your weekend drives it's really really impressive what they did with the Taycan.

 

[TDinDC]

I have a 992 Turbo S and a Taycan GTS. On the back roads they're closer than folks want to admit, and I doubt anyone that is dug in will stop denying that. I haven't tracked my Taycan so I can't say how it compares there, but for your weekend drives it's really really impressive what they did with the Taycan.

I think the Taycan handles extremely well. The suspension quality and tuning is fantastic. For me, the difference between the Taycan and the 911 is not just the big difference in overall weight, but rather the distribution of that weight. The rear weight bias of a 911 is a truly unique characteristic that has a huge impact on how it handles and how it should be driven. The uniform weight distribution of the Taycan makes it feel fundamentally different, which isn't bad per se, but it impacts the way that you need to drive it, and thus the two cars seem to have really different "characters". Sort of like the difference between a 911 and a Cayman: they are made by the same manufacturer, but they do feel really different when you drive them.

 

[Mookow]

I think the Taycan handles extremely well. The suspension quality and tuning is fantastic. For me, the difference between the Taycan and the 911 is not just the big difference in overall weight, but rather the distribution of that weight. The rear weight bias of a 911 is a truly unique characteristic that has a huge impact on how it handles and how it should be driven. The uniform weight distribution of the Taycan makes it feel fundamentally different, which isn't bad per se, but it impacts the way that you need to drive it, and thus the two cars seem to have really different "characters". Sort of like the difference between a 911 and a Cayman: they are made by the same manufacturer, but they do feel really different when you drive them.

Oh yes, I agree they feel different, that was never a question. But I think what folks have a hard time understanding is that from a capability standpoint, the Taycan is a lot better than they want to admit. Especially for the type of driving most of us do - canyons or backroads, the Taycan is effectively tied with the 911 from a capability standpoint. (Feel is different) I still think you'd really need to take these to the track before the capability of the 911 outshined the Taycan.

 

[TDinDC]

Oh yes, I agree they feel different, that was never a question. But I think what folks have a hard time understanding is that from a capability standpoint, the Taycan is a lot better than they want to admit. Especially for the type of driving most of us do - canyons or backroads, the Taycan is effectively tied with the 911 from a capability standpoint. (Feel is different) I still think you'd really need to take these to the track before the capability of the 911 outshined the Taycan.

I agree with you about 95%. The way that I do not think they are effectively tied is that my Taycan CT feels much bigger than my 997 911. This is not surprising, of course, but it is harder to feel as comfortable in a vehicle that is -- and feels -- much bigger. Now, I know that the 911 has grown over the past 18 years, so maybe this is not as much of an issue if you compare '23 Taycan with '23 911, but still.

 

[timo]

Oh yes, I agree they feel different, that was never a question. But I think what folks have a hard time understanding is that from a capability standpoint, the Taycan is a lot better than they want to admit. Especially for the type of driving most of us do - canyons or backroads, the Taycan is effectively tied with the 911 from a capability standpoint. (Feel is different) I still think you'd really need to take these to the track before the capability of the 911 outshined the Taycan.

Agreed. I live near some pretty fantastic roads that I grew up driving on. I've taken the GTS on these roads and there's no way a sane person is going to see a performance difference between the 911 and a Taycan. Take the cars to the track and drive them at 10/10ths and then you will see the quantitative difference. We can all agree that the cars feel completely different.

 

[Archimedes]

Having owned two 911s, a Cayman S, two Spyders, and a GT4, while I loooove my Taycan, I don’t find it very similar to the Porsche sports cars other than in ergonomics and interior design style. It’s a Porsche, but not a sports car.

 

[Archimedes]

Agreed. I live near some pretty fantastic roads that I grew up driving on. I've taken the GTS on these roads and there's no way a sane person is going to see a performance difference between the 911 and a Taycan. Take the cars to the track and drive them at 10/10ths and then you will see the quantitative difference. We can all agree that the cars feel completely different.

Yeah, I would disagree with you there. My GT4 cornered much more capably that my Taycan. Speeds where the Taycan wants to under steer into the weeds, the GT4 just sucks down into the road. There is a sweeper near my house that I could easily take at 125 in my GT4, that gets scary at 90 in the Taycan. The Taycan is a great car, but even Porsche can’t defy the laws of physics.

 

[timo]

Yeah, I would disagree with you there. My GT4 cornered much more capably that my Taycan. Speeds where the Taycan wants to under steer into the weeds, the GT4 just sucks down into the road. There is a sweeper near my house that I could easily take at 125 in my GT4, that gets scary at 90 in the Taycan. The Taycan is a great car, but even Porsche can’t defy the laws of physics.

A 35mph difference in turn? That's laughable. Your trollish posts never disappoint. Zero credibility.

 

[FlyingPoint]

Its all about physics - no engineer can mitigate physics. The car is great until you reach its limits, then it is a 911 poser.

 

[DCYL725]

A 35mph difference in turn? That's laughable. Your trollish posts never disappoint. Zero credibility.

it was probably raining when the Taycan took it at 90.

 

[f1eng]

The rear weight bias of a 911 is a truly unique characteristic

Do you know what the weight distribution of the various iterations of the 911 are?
I had a quick internet search expecting it would be the first thing to come up, but it wasn't.

The aircooled variants aren't as extreme as people often think, both because the air cooled engine isn't actually that heavy and because the driveshafts are angled backwards, so the engine weight isn't as far behind the axle as it could be.
It certainly didn't benefit from 4WD at all until the power went up a lot though.

A lot of mid engined cars end up with the front axle almost comically rearward to get a more balanced WD yet it doesn't get mentioned, my Ferrari 355 is a classic example.

Now, with a water cooled engines and the turbos practically in the rear bumper, maybe it has become more extreme.

The old theory about the tailhappy handling of the 911 being due to it being rear engined turned out to be wrong, it was the lift-off toe out of the old semi-trailing arm rear suspension and its bushings fixed by the 5 link rear suspension replacement about 25 years ago but still persisting in "common knowledge".

 

[TDinDC]

Do you know what the weight distribution of the various iterations of the 911 are?
I had a quick internet search expecting it would be the first thing to come up, but it wasn't.

The aircooled variants aren't as extreme as people often think, both because the air cooled engine isn't actually that heavy and because the driveshafts are angled backwards, so the engine weight isn't as far behind the axle as it could be.
It certainly didn't benefit from 4WD at all until the power went up a lot though.

A lot of mid engined cars end up with the front axle almost comically rearward to get a more balanced WD yet it doesn't get mentioned, my Ferrari 355 is a classic example.

Now, with a water cooled engines and the turbos practically in the rear bumper, maybe it has become more extreme.

The old theory about the tailhappy handling of the 911 being due to it being rear engined turned out to be wrong, it was the lift-off toe out of the old semi-trailing arm rear suspension and its bushings fixed by the 5 link rear suspension replacement about 25 years ago but still persisting in "common knowledge".

My 911s, at least the ones with stability control, have never been unstable or “tail happy”. You can’t really ever turn it fully off on water cooled 911 street cars, unfortunately

But the difference in the way you can drive them is, in my experience, very different.

In my 911s, the biggest difference is how awesome the braking is since you start at 37/63 because it means that you get closer to 50/50 under heavy braking (rather than going from 50/50 to 70/30) and less likely to spin. The difference for me at least is that I could brake way, way later in a 911, rotate the car quickly and then accelerate much sooner and aggressively because the weight over the rear tires would help with traction. So you end up having a more “V” shaped line with the rotation happening earlier in the corner (or, depending on corner way late in corner) so that you can take advantage of braking and acceleration.

In a front or mid engined car, the line was much more of a traditional “U” as you would try to balance the braking (could not brake as late or as aggressively) and acceleration (could not accelerate as soon or as quickly — had to act like egg was between shoe and throttle). The rotation was much more gradual and more towards the middle of corner for most corners.

I always found it easier to be more aggressive in a 911 because it was easier to start and stop rotation (rotation on demand) than in other cars, where you had to work harder to start and stop rotation and could result in too much if not careful. No big deal if alone in corner but shart inducing if in a pack of 3-5 or more cars (like first corner of race).

now, the cost of this advantage is under steer on corner entry for corners where you do not need to brake on entry. My former coach used to say just go faster and tap on entry to address. I understand that the new GT3RS’s use of aero to address this is brilliant, but I have not had the chance to try. But here is where Taycan has advantage over normal 911s because turn in is crisper and more precise. I have actually never experienced even a whiff of understeer in the Taycan even at very high speed corners (e.g., 120 mph+), but mine has all of the available suspension and handling options, including RAS, so I'm not sure whether others who do not have these options might have a different experience.

Do you ever get close to this away from the track? Well, I know most do not and I should not. But once you have felt that sensation, you can still feel it even when you are not pushing all the way to that point.

The only time I really feel how much heavier the Taycan is is during mid-corner disruptions (e.g., bumps) that unload the suspension abruptly from being fully loaded. The weight makes the transition more disturbing and the car has to fight more to settle again.

just my perceptions here of course.

i didn’t grow up worshiping Porsche, so never really learned about any “myths” until long after I had been driving on track. My impressions are based solely on my extremely non-professional personal experiences in amateur competitive racing and some pro coaching. One should never mistake passion for a topic or hobby with talent