What's the difference?
Can you believe Porsche’s Taycan has been on sale in Australia for three and a half years?
Well, it has, which means the mid-life refresh clock has struck 12 for this ground-breaking pure-electric performance sedan and wagon.
Porsche says it’s faster in a straight line… and to charge, with more power and an extended range. It’s also been refreshed cosmetically, the dynamics have been tweaked and the standard features list has been lengthened as prices have gone up.
We’re ready to share our first impressions review, so stay with us to see if the new Taycan keeps the Porsche flame burning in an increasingly electrified automotive world.
With Ferrari leaving the Fiat-Chrysler family and becoming an independent entity in 2016, Maserati was left without a technology partner.
Suddenly, the Trident brand had to go it alone and come up with its own engines for the first time in more than 20 years. The MC20 sports-car is the result of that rebirth.
While there’s no doubt the Maserati brand has the currency to pull this off, the MC20 is also a big step outside the company’s usual grand-tourer box.
The new coupe is aimed at McLaren, Porsche and even Ferrari buyers, so can the first true Maserati sports car since the MC12 of 2004 walk the walk? And let’s not forget that the MC12 was Ferrari Enzo-based…
No-compromise cars are often the ones that impose the most compromises, and in that sense, the MC20’s shattering on-paper performance means its greatest attributes can’t be enjoyed on a public road.
That’s why this review was conducted entirely on Philip Island’s 4.4km Grand Prix layout. As a result, we can’t tell you much about parking ease or highway fuel consumption. But as for the things that give a super-sports car its identity, read on.
Porsche says its Taycan models have always been performance-focused and this updated version is even faster than the car it replaces, in a straight line and point-to-point. It’s better equipped, more efficient, and yes, more expensive but every millimetre a Porsche in the way this EV sedan and wagon package has been executed.
It’s an impressive car likely to appeal to Porsche newcomers rather than traditionalists, although you may already have other Porsches in the garage. But with the Macan EV landing any minute and the pure-electric 718 Boxster and Cayman just around the corner it's a key part of the changing face of this iconic German brand.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
With a 320km/h-plus top speed and the ability to get from rest to 100km/h in under three seconds, there’s no doubting the MC20 meets or exceeds its performance brief. But when you’re paying these prices, there must be more than just the measurable stuff going on.
And there is. The MC20 brings a big dollop of purity to the ranks of current supercars, doing away with all-wheel drive and hybrid tech and relying instead on and old-school approach in terms of handling and overall feel.
Anybody who wants to argue that call has plenty of alternatives to the MC20 from other manufacturers, and for some of us, that less-is-more thing will ring true.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.