[Test Drive] Porsche Taycan GTS is racing car, but stable

The Porsche World Roadshow, featuring diverse driving programs such as circuit driving, slalom course, and launch braking offered by the German carmaker, resumed in South Korea on May 19 after skipping a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Porsche Korea had around 28 models including the Taycan GTS, a model yet to be launched in South Korea, lined up for test drives at Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The Taycan GTS was definitely the eye-catcher of the event, as not only it is the first Gran Turismo Sport (GTS) version of Porsche’s all-electric car, but also the first time the model is test-driven in the country.

The four-door electric sports sedan was beautifully designed with a blacked-out chin spoiler and enlarged air curtain ducts below the black-background headlight buckers.

On the sides, deep side skirts with glossy black inserts accentuates the color of the car’s body.

Porsche used its faux-suede material Race-Tex on the car’s interior, including on the steering wheel and the seats to give the driver a better grip.

Driven on the circuit, the Taycan GTS showed full potential as a race car boasting a maximum of 598 horsepower that can be unlocked on overboost thanks to two electric motors, one for the front axle and one for the rear.

It can reach 100 kilometers per hour from zero in a whopping 3.7 seconds.

Testing out the launch control of Taycan GTS was breathtaking, as it was almost like departing on an airplane.

The instructor at the scene explained that an ordinary car cannot perform the same when launch control is tested various times in a row.

But the Taycan GTS, he added, can boost up to its maximum horsepower even when tested continuously throughout the day, thanks to its premium motors.

Equipped with a rear-axle steering system, it was easy to make a U-turn on a narrow road with the Taycan GTS.

It was also easy and safe to make sharp turns at the corners of the circuit, as the car could reduce vehicle body movement with its adaptive air suspension system.

The price and the launch date of the Taycan GTS in South Korea is yet to be decided.

The Porsche World Roadshow is open to the public until the end of this month.

By Hong Yoo (yoohong@heraldcorp.com)