It isn't often we set records at the dragstrip, but we did last week when we tested the all-electric all-wheel-drive 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. By a mere 0.04 second, it became the quickest (in time) and fastest (in speed) battery-powered electric vehicle in MotorTrend's history of testing.

In the process, the hatchback/sedan became the third-quickest Porsche and 12th-quickest of any vehicle from MotorTrend's decades of quarter-mile instrumented testing of production cars. It even bumped a (991.2) 911 Turbo S down a notch. How quick and how fast?

Setting Up the Taycan

First, the prerequisites: The Taycan's 94-kW-hr lithium-ion battery pack must be at least 75 percent charged and its temperature should read at least 80 degrees F in the instrument panel. Selecting the Sport Plus drive mode ensures launch mode is available, which ups the motors' combined output from 616 to 750 horsepower (but torque remains unchanged at 774 lb-ft). Acceleration did not vary measurably if the traction and stability controls were engaged or in performance mode, but my best run had traction control disabled.

Free-Falling … Horizontally

One-tenth of a second (0.1) after releasing its brakes, the 5,109-pound Taycan (about the same weight as a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon) was already traveling 4.3 mph and achieving 1.0 g in longitudinal acceleration. I was literally experiencing free fall, as if stepping off the ledge of a building—but horizontally.

In fact, after 0.8 second, in less distance than the car's own length, the Taycan was traveling 19.6 mph and reaching its peak longitudinal acceleration of 1.11 g. Like Superman swooping down to save falling Lois Lane, it was exceeding the gravitational force of a free fall. That 1.0g-plus sensation was sustained all the way up to 40.3 mph, where it began to slowly wane. Even when it reached 60 mph in a near-record 2.4 seconds (and less than eight car lengths), the Taycan Turbo S was still pulling 0.75 g.

The Top 15 Fastest

It's been my honor—and thrill, really—to have been the dragstrip test driver for 11 of the quickest cars on our Top 15 list. By the 0-30-mph times—how we gauge how well a car launches—the list shows they fall within 0.6 second of one another (0.9 to 1.5 sec overall).

What's interesting is that each McLaren (there are four in this group) launched like a McLaren: a little soft at first, then they accelerate like an NHRA Super Street Class car, which would require aftermarket axles and a rollcage with an altered floorpan.

Yet these McLarens are street-legal cars. The same holds true with Ferraris because they are also rear-wheel drive.

But all-wheel drive further changes this acceleration equation. Just ask the video operators who have ridden along on occasion. On the first run, I always warn them, "Put your head and camera against the head restraint. You'll thank me in about a half-second." The response is always the same, "Holy guacamole, you weren't kidding!" OK, maybe there's a bit more industrial language, but this is a family show.

MotorTrend's Fastest Fifteen Quarter-Miles (as of Feb 5, 2020) YEAR MAKE MODEL 1/4 MI SPEED DRIVE HP TRQ TRNS CURB WT 0-30 0-60 0-100 1 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari 9.74* 148.5 RWD 950 516 7tc 3,495 1.1 2.4 4.8 2 2014 McLaren P1 9.75 148.9 RWD 904 664 7tc 3,411 1.2 2.6 4.7 3 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder 9.97 145.2 AWD 887 944 7tc 3,791 1.2 2.4 5.1 4 2019 McLaren Senna 10.08 147.5 RWD 789 590 7tc 3,011 1.4 2.9 5.1 5 2018 McLaren 720S 10.11 141.5 RWD 711 568 7tc 3,167 1.1 2.5 5.3 6 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS 10.26 139.3 RWD 691 553 7tc 3,355 1.2 2.6 5.5 7 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ 10.32 136.4 AWD 760 531 7ac 3,902 1.1 2.5 5.6 8 2005 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 10.37 139.9 AWD 987 922 7tc 4,530 1.2 2.7 5.7 9 2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 SV 10.39 134.7 AWD 740 509 7ac 3,900 1.0 2.6 5.8 10 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante 10.42 134.5 AWD 630 442 7tc 3,493 1.1 2.6 5.8 11 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast 10.44 138.6 RWD 789 530 7tc 3,845 1.2 2.8 5.8 12 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S 10.47 130.7 AWD 750 774 1a/2a 5,109 1.0 2.4 5.9 13 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo S 10.483 131.8 AWD 580 516 7tc 3,557 0.9 2.5 6.0 14 2016 McLaren 675LT 10.484 139.7 RWD 666 516 7tc 2,993 1.5 3.0 5.7 15 2017 Tesla Model S P100D (Ludicrous+) 10.51 125.0 AWD 680 791 1a/1a 4,891 0.9 2.3 6.0 AVERAGES 10.25 138.8 768 624 3,763 1.1 2.6 5.5 Show All

*Slightly downhill at Fiorano circuit na: naturally aspirated 7tc: 7-speed twin-clutch automated manual 7ac: 7-speed auto-clutch manual 1a: 1-speed automatic 2a: 2-speed automatic Show All

AWD Changes the Game

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Including the Taycan Turbo S, there are now eight AWD cars on the list. The "slowest" to 30 mph, in 1.23 seconds, are the quad-turbo 16-cylinder Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and Porsche 918 Spyder. The rest leap off the line like a cat seeing a cucumber (trust me, look up the videos).

Our 911 Turbo S pointed its "frunk" to the heavens and even did a teeny wheelie after I had softened the dampers for better rear weight transfer. By contrast, the Taycan was unusual in that it remained eerily flat on launches, with virtually no weight transfer.

This really heightens the sensation of the Taycan's acceleration, as your body senses the seat back with the same force as your weight. This is truly unusual—especially because your surroundings are otherwise quiet. One sense (hearing) is diminished, and the other (touch) is heightened.

All four P Zeros were scrambling for traction—on the brink of wheelspin—and the Taycan was literally dancing and bucking under its own power. It reached the point where I needed to make steering corrections to keep the car pointed straight during those first 1.7 seconds. At about 2.5 seconds, I could barely detect the 1-2 gear change happening at the rear motor, guessing at 63 mph, or 101 kph for obvious reasons.

Taycan vs. Tesla

It's interesting that our three quickest quarter-milers are, to this day, hybrid-electric hypercars, but the previous battery-electric vehicle (BEV) record holder was the Tesla Model S P100D (aka "Plood") Ludicrous+ with its 10.51-second pass at 125.0 mph. The Taycan Turbo S, carrying 218 pounds more curb weight, did not reach 30 or 60 mph as quickly as the Model S, but because of its rear two-speed transmission and higher combined output, it did reach 100 mph 0.12 second earlier. It also crossed the 1,320-foot finish line 0.04 sooner going a significant 5.7 mph faster with a 10.47-second, 130.7-mph pass.

Congratulations, Porsche, on your slim victory. If the Teslarati are correct, though, a 2020 model year over-the-air firmware update to the newest Tesla Model S Performance "Raven" might have something to say about that.

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