Taycan reveal

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

This seems overcomplicated. The brake pedal is being decoupled from the brakes anyway. Why not combine regen and braking there?

Not having to move your foot back and forth in stop and go traffic is a massively better driving experience.

Except for occasional hard braking it's true 1-foot driving. Once you get used to it it's very natural and relaxing. It's like riding a Segway - lean forward to go faster, backward to slow down. It's really nice once you get used to it.

[JST]

Originally Posted by rumatt

Not having to move your foot back and forth in stop and go traffic is a massively better driving experience.

Except for occasional hard braking it's true 1-foot driving. Once you get used to it it's very natural and relaxing. It's like riding a Segway - lean forward to go faster, backward to slow down. It's really nice once you get used to it.

Yes. There's no reason to split these functions, in no small part because the incredibly precise control that you get over the car's speed from having it all in one control is the closest thing I've ever experienced to driving a stick, without the clutch.

Really, properly implemented, regen just feels like engine braking, except the car is always in the right gear.

I haven't driven the i3 enough to compare its implementation to the Tesla's, though it wouldn't shock me if it weren't as good.

[ZBB]

I love the region on the accelerator pedal approach Tesla takes. Haven't driven an i3 -- but I hear that region feels stronger, so maybe that is the difference people are not liking...

As for coasting. I'm serious -- just pop the Tesla in neutral. Tap the shift lever back down, and you'll go back into drive...

[lemming]

Dumb pricing. Good lord.

But it’s good to see what the Tesla Model S gen II will look like now.

It’s impressive to out do Porsche engineers for range but with same performance. I think Porsche might be more robust because they make a lot of noise about repeatedly hitting acceleration runs. Implying Tesla’s have cooling issues that they have solved.

[rumatt]

Electrek: Tesla ‘Plaid’ Model S crushes Porsche Taycan’s Nürburgring time, witness says.
https://electrek.co/2019/09/17/tesla...burgring-time/

[equ]

Wait, this is the ringer S with the bespoke spoiler, HRE's wrapped in F1's, carbon ceramic brakes, all options available on the consumer car? With so much tuning going on outside, I wonder what lies beneath?

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...o-win-the-ring


The N-ring time is mostly meaningless to a consumer. I've never shopped for a sports car (let alone a sedan) comparing Ring times. I still think the Taycan, as it sits, is an not that relevant footnote to vast Tesla sales. Then again, it might be VW juggernaut's test bed for learning.

[JST]

Originally Posted by equ

Wait, this is the ringer S with the bespoke spoiler, HRE's wrapped in F1's, carbon ceramic brakes, all options available on the consumer car? With so much tuning going on outside, I wonder what lies beneath?

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...o-win-the-ring


The N-ring time is mostly meaningless to a consumer. I've never shopped for a sports car (let alone a sedan) comparing Ring times. I still think the Taycan, as it sits, is an not that relevant footnote to vast Tesla sales. Then again, it might be VW juggernaut's test bed for learning.

It's not a "ringer" (ha ha) so much as it is a prototype for a completely new drivetrain.

This whole kerfuffle with Musk and the tweets has been hilarious. Neither Tesla nor Musk ever actually said that they'd try and beat the Porsche 'ring time using a current production car; all of that was purely a construction of the various people interpreting his tweets. It's a reasonable assumption, sure, but the jumping up and down about whether he's going back on his challenge or somehow cheating is insane, because he never said anything other than the Model S would be on the 'ring (last) week.

What's Musk doing here? Well, the Model S is seven years old and due for some updates. Putting an (advanced) prototype on the 'ring to steal some of Porsche's thunder makes a lot of sense. Moreover, my guess is that sometime in the next month or so we'll see an announcement of what the car can do along with pre-orders taken at the $150,000 plus price point, with the intent of sniping some of the advance orders for the Taycan.

Does it mean that the current gen Model S, as produced now, can beat the Taycan around the ring? Obviously not, nor is it intended to. It's just meant as a signal from Tesla that they have not been standing still.

[robg]

Originally Posted by equ

Wait, this is the ringer S with the bespoke spoiler, HRE's wrapped in F1's, carbon ceramic brakes, all options available on the consumer car? With so much tuning going on outside, I wonder what lies beneath?

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...o-win-the-ring


The N-ring time is mostly meaningless to a consumer. I've never shopped for a sports car (let alone a sedan) comparing Ring times. I still think the Taycan, as it sits, is an not that relevant footnote to vast Tesla sales. Then again, it might be VW juggernaut's test bed for learning.

Yeah even automotive journalists now roll their eyes when it comes to the relevance of ring times. But automakers can’t resist doing it. When it comes to Porsche and Tesla id expect this tit for tat to go on for quite some time given the egos involved. Hopefully musk will be just as motivated to achieve Porsche level build quality in the redesigned model s (whenever it comes out)

Will be interesting to see the price on the Tesla “plaid” drivetrain when it becomes available. My guess is that it will be the vicinity of taycan turbo prices.

[FC]

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'm a bit concerned about the acceleration that EV cars provide. My M3 can take off fast enough to scare the crap out of the other 4 "normal" passengers I had in the car simply by punching it from 30mph to redline in 2nd gear. That means it was burdened with 500lbs+ of weight.

That some of these cars utterly destroy my M3 and that they don't even have a redline or other audible sign that they are going fast is scary. My point is that people with no skill can easily go spectacularly fast not fully understanding the consequences. I could get to 120mph comically quickly in the Turbo. And that car, with the ridiculous brakes it had, and huge sticky tires, had trouble shaving speed commensurately with it's ability to accelerate. That anyone with some money can buy a car that with no drama gets to you 100mph+ in a handful of seconds scares me.

[ff]

Originally Posted by FC

On a somewhat unrelated note, I'm a bit concerned about the acceleration that EV cars provide. My M3 can take off fast enough to scare the crap out of the other 4 "normal" passengers I had in the car simply by punching it from 30mph to redline in 2nd gear. That means it was burdened with 500lbs+ of weight.

That some of these cars utterly destroy my M3 and that they don't even have a redline or other audible sign that they are going fast is scary. My point is that people with no skill can easily go spectacularly fast not fully understanding the consequences. I could get to 120mph comically quickly in the Turbo. And that car, with the ridiculous brakes it had, and huge sticky tires, had trouble shaving speed commensurately with it's ability to accelerate. That anyone with some money can buy a car that with no drama gets to you 100mph+ in a handful of seconds scares me.

There's no question that it's a lot of power to put into the hands of minimally trained drivers. Fortunately, it's not terribly often that you see people driving EVs with their hair on fire. It's seldom enough that I never think about it as being a threat to my safety.

Teens staring at their cell phones while driving, however...