While the Tesla flagship car is aging and has never been completely redesigned, Tesla has updated it regularly.
The latest version has seen plenty of updates to performance and range.
The Model S P100D is now the Model S Performance, and let's not forget about the 'Raven' upgrade and now the new 'Cheetah stance.'
The Porsche Taycan arrived for the 2020 model year as the world's first true Model S rival.
The two may not actually compete on a high level, due to the fact that they're on a different plain in terms of price and luxury.
Most Porsche buyers may not be likely to switch to a Tesla.
In the same way, many Tesla owners are probably not racing out to buy a Porsche.
There's nothing quite like either of them on the market today, and there probably won't be for years to come.
Porsche Taycan vs. 2020 Tesla Model S: Which luxury EV is best
Kia confirms Taycan rival in high-performance “halo” electric crossover
South Korean car maker Kia will launch an all-electric crossover in 2021 that will sit above the e-Niro compact SUV and e-Soul urban car as a halo model.
Based on the Imagine concept we first saw at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the UK’s Auto Express reports that the new high-performance electric model will have similar charging characteristics to the luxury electric Porsche Taycan sports car with an 800 volt architecture.
The vehicle, known internally as the Kia CV, will be built on the Hyundai Group’s E-GMP electric platform and deliver 480+ kilometres driving range, Auto Express says.
Drawing from the South Korean brand’s partnership with electric hypercar designer Rimac, Kia Motors Europe COO Emilio Herrera also told Auto Express that a GT version of the Kia CV could be expected to rival the Taycan.
“We will have in the new EV a high-performance vehicle like an e-GT,” Herrera was quoted as saying by Auto Express.
The Kia Imagine was designed at the car maker’s Frankfurt design centre, and at the time was billed as an “emotional statement” signifying the car maker’s vision of the future.
With an edgy take on Kia’s “tiger nose” grille, it was described at the time by Gregory Guillaume, VP of design at Kia Europe as a vehicle that gives you “goose bumps when you looked at it, and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.”
But the Imagine concept did not stray too far from Kia’s ultimate production goals, it seems.
Style-wise, the Kia CV will likely stick close to the Imagine’s fastback-style C-segment sports utility image.
As discussed at the Geneva Motor Show by Kia’s then-chief designer, Luc Donkerwolke, none of the concept’s design was unfeasible from a production perspective.
“There are some cost-related issues that have to be validated, but it hasn’t been done by designers who don’t understand how to build a car for production,” he was quoted as saying at the time.
It certainly sounds like an alluring prospect from the South Korean brand, but when and if it will make it Australia is another thing.
Kia Australia is pushing for its current all-electric models to come to local shores but all previous plans to introduce the popular e-Niro and e-Soul have been put on hold to answer demand and comply with vehicle emissions regulations overseas.
The 4S is not the fastest Taycan (that honor goes to the Turbo S) but it's still a performance car and, even in 4S form, it's substantially more expensive than the $54,990 Model 3 Performance (though a bit cheaper than the $133,000 Model S P100D).
Though the newer and faster Tesla Model S Performance starts at $99,990. Prices in the US start at $103,800 for the Taycan 4S with the Performance Battery, and $110,380 for the Taycan 4S equipped with the Performance Battery Plus.
This actual test was a bit different in that it attempted to see which of the three cars could maintain the same pace over multiple races.
In order to record that, ten races in a row were conducted and the results are actually very surprising.
First off though, we should point out that Porsche touts its Taycan as a car with repeatable performance, a knock directed at Tesla and, more specifically, at the Model S which has often been recorded dialing down its power after a hard lap or a few launches.
Run after run after run, the Model 3 remains extremely consistent, even a bit more so than the Taycan.
Have a look at the results below of the Taycan 4S (top) and Model 3 Performance (bottom).
We organized a drag racing marathon for three top-end electric cars - Tesla Model S P100D, Tesla Model 3 Performance and the latest electric Porsche Taycan 4S !!!
Which of them will be able to do ten races in a row and not be blown away at the end? Who will win? Professional timekeeping on guard !!
Oh and here's the video of the Tesla Model S easily beating the Taycan:
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