Quote:
Originally Posted by hotrod182
Well, the VW IDR race car is neither light or high HP. It is 100% electric though, and set a time of 6:05 on the Nürburgring, broke the Pikes Peak overall record, as well as several other records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_I.D._R
The Porsche Taycan S Turbo is also 100% electric, and it can beat a M5 around a road course, and runs mid 10's at over 130mph. All with an efficiency rating of over 80MPGe. Can only imagine how much better it is going to get. And as I said, it will always be fun to have gas cars around, so you can hear them screaming as they struggle to keep pace with you in your serenely quiet EV. |
I daily drive a Model 3 Performance but I'll be the first to tell you that the performance of EVs, at least with Tesla, is far from exciting in any way. Of course you're missing the sound of an engine but everybody already knows that. The more important thing is the falling power curve of the electric motor + single speed transmission, the faster you go, the weaker the acceleration is. This is nice because I feel zero incentive to drive much higher than the speed limit but it's also very boring. Everyone brags about EV torque "From" 0 RPM but they don't mention that it really delivers maximum acceleration G forces "At" 0 RPM and it drops down very quickly above 40 MPH.
Also, Teslas accelerate very quickly when fully charged but the performance falls off a cliff as the battery charge level drops down. I leave my house every morning at 90% charge and if I floor it, the car throws me hard back into my seat and makes me laugh every time. I get to work at about 80% charge and it's a hair slower than it was when I left home. By the time I return home after work, I'm down to about 70% and it's much slower than it was in the morning. By the time you get down around 50% charge, it feels downright slow compared to what you've become used to when the car is fully charged. That truly sucks and it's why I'd never consider a car like this for track use or purposely take it out in the canyons for a fun drive. Not all EVs are like this, it's a choice Tesla has made to keep the overal range high and achieve other goals but it keeps my car firmly in the "excellent daily commuter" camp for me.
I have not driven a Taycan yet but my friends who have tell me that the Porsche approach is not like Tesla at all, hopefully BMW would follow in Porsche's footsteps and prioritize acceleration potential when the car is already at higher speeds and also keep maximum acceleration available for longer as the battery charge level drops.