Tag Archives: Porsche

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Smokes the Quarter Mile in 9.08 Seconds

Sydney Dragway isn’t the kind of place you expect to see an unmodified production Porsche casually obliterate the strip. On a humid Wednesday night, where the air usually rattles with the sound of lumpy V-8s and tire smoke hangs heavy, Porsche quietly rolled out its newest electric flagship: the Taycan Turbo GT. What followed wasn’t quiet at all.

The Turbo GT launched hard, silently but brutally, covering the quarter mile in 9.083 seconds at 156.61 mph (252.04 km/h)—a number believed to be the quickest pass ever by an unmodified production car on an Australian drag strip. The crowd, expecting another round of nitrous-fed Commodores and turbo Falcons, suddenly found themselves watching the future of performance unfold in real time.

The speed was so serious it actually broke the International Hot Rod Association’s safety threshold. IHRA rules demand a parachute for any car topping 150 mph. The Taycan? No chute, no drama—just blistering acceleration and a reminder that Porsche’s idea of progress still means rewriting the rulebook.

At the heart of this beast sits an 800-volt powertrain that, with launch control, delivers up to 760 kW (1,019 hp) of overboost and can briefly spike to 815 kW (1,093 hp). That’s hypercar-level thrust in a four-door EV that still wears a Porsche crest on the nose. Its appearance at Sydney Dragway was symbolic: Porsche’s fastest and most powerful road car facing off on a stage typically reserved for nitro, big blocks, and heavily modified drag specials—and doing so with absolute authority.

For Daniel Schmollinger, CEO and Managing Director of Porsche Cars Australia, the night wasn’t just about numbers. “Porsche has always been at the forefront of performance,” he said. “The Taycan Turbo GT exemplifies our commitment to pushing boundaries—not just in lap times or acceleration figures, but in how we imagine the future of driving.”

What makes the run significant isn’t just that an EV crushed a record—it’s where it happened. This wasn’t a closed test track or a carefully orchestrated marketing video. This was grassroots, under the floodlights, with the public watching. It was a cultural statement: the electric future isn’t coming, it’s already here, and it’s fast enough to leave a parachute rulebook in the dust.

For Porsche, the Taycan Turbo GT is more than a headline-grabber. It’s a reaffirmation that performance—true, visceral, neck-snapping performance—doesn’t vanish when gas tanks do. Instead, it evolves. And as the Turbo GT showed in Sydney, sometimes it evolves quicker than anyone expected.

Source: Porsche

Porsche Ousted from Germany’s Blue-Chip DAX Index as Stock Slides

It’s not every day that one of the most recognizable sports car brands in the world gets bumped from Germany’s benchmark stock index. But that’s the case this week as Porsche AG has been shown the door from the DAX, the index of 40 major German companies, and replaced by the comparatively low-profile Scout24 SE—the operator of ImmoScout24, Germany’s largest online real-estate platform.

On paper, it’s a surprising swap: Porsche is a global luxury icon, while Scout24 SE is a dot-com operator better known among apartment hunters than car enthusiasts. But the move follows the index’s regular quarterly review, and the numbers behind it tell the real story.

Porsche stock has been under pressure for months. Shares closed at €44.35 ($51.67) this week, down more than 33 percent compared with a year ago, and nearly 25 percent lower since January. Those declines pushed the company into the MDAX—essentially the DAX’s second tier—where Porsche now takes Scout24’s former slot.

CEO Oliver Blume isn’t hiding his disappointment. Speaking to German newspaper FAZ, he called the removal a temporary setback and stressed he wants Porsche back in the DAX “as soon as possible.” Still, he couldn’t resist suggesting the index is “one company poorer when it comes to one of Germany’s most valuable companies.”

The tough talk masks an even tougher reality. Porsche recently admitted that “macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds” dragged down its first-half results. Revenues dropped from €19.46 billion ($22.7 billion) to €18.16 billion ($21.2 billion), while operating profit cratered from €3.06 billion ($3.6 billion) to just €1.01 billion ($1.2 billion). Around €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) in special charges tied to strategic realignments, battery projects, and U.S. tariffs didn’t help the bottom line either.

Blume pointed to sluggish demand in China and escalating trade tariffs in the U.S. as particularly damaging, while acknowledging that Porsche’s pivot to electrification has been slower than hoped. For a brand that once defined aspiration and performance, being squeezed by global economics, shifting consumer demand, and the EV transition is a humbling reality check.

For now, Scout24 gets the prestige of joining the DAX, and Porsche is left watching from the MDAX sidelines. But if the sports-car maker can right the ship, claw back profits, and rekindle momentum in its EV strategy, don’t bet against a comeback. After all, this is Porsche—comebacks are kind of its thing.

Source: Euronews

Porsche’s Next Big Move: Wireless Charging Hits the Cayenne EV

Wireless charging has already made our lives easier with smartphones and toothbrushes. Drop it in the cradle, walk away, and the magic happens. Now Porsche wants to bring that same “set it and forget it” convenience to electric cars—and it’s doing so with the next-generation Cayenne EV, set to debut at the end of 2025.

The German automaker claims it will be the first to bring an 11-kW inductive charging system into production. The setup uses a floor-mounted base plate—no wallbox, no cables, no fumbling with plugs in the rain. Park the Cayenne over the pad, hit the brake, and the juice flows. Porsche says efficiency tops out at 90 percent, roughly on par with today’s wired AC charging.

Everyday EV Life, Simplified

Porsche’s research shows that about 75 percent of charging happens at home, making the case for wireless charging even stronger. The pad itself is a tidy slab—about 117 by 78 centimeters and 6 centimeters tall, weighing in at roughly 50 kilos. It’s weatherproof, TÜV-tested, and even tough enough to drive over. Installation can be handled by Porsche’s own service network, ensuring that the system doesn’t just look premium, but feels it, too.

The vehicle side of the system is equally clever. A receiving plate, tucked neatly between the Cayenne’s front wheels, lowers toward the pad during charging. Ultra-wideband tech helps the SUV line itself up precisely, and the Cayenne’s surround-view system adds an augmented “hit the target” parking aid. Once the car is in place, the charging process is automatic, and safeguards stop the flow if a pet, child, or stray object finds its way into the charging zone.

Big Numbers Beyond the Pad

As convenient as the wireless setup sounds, Porsche isn’t abandoning outright charging speed. Like the Taycan and Macan before it, the Cayenne EV is aiming to set new benchmarks. DC fast charging will reportedly peak at a blistering 400 kW—numbers that would make even Tesla owners raise an eyebrow. Plugged into a Porsche Charging Lounge, that could mean topping up from nearly empty to road trip–ready in minutes.

Tech on Display

To drum up excitement, Porsche rolled out a prototype Cayenne at the IAA Mobility show in Munich wearing a dazzling electroluminescent paint job. The fluorescent wrap comes alive when current runs through it, glowing in shifting hues of blue and violet like something from a cyberpunk concept sketch. The finish reportedly required over 25 ultra-thin layers, 30 sanding cycles, and 500 meters of wiring. It’s not production-bound—at least not yet—but it reinforces Porsche’s point: this SUV is about tech, spectacle, and a future where charging is as seamless as dropping your phone on a nightstand.

The Bigger Picture

“Ease of use, suitability for everyday use, and charging infrastructure are still the decisive factors when it comes to the acceptance of electric mobility,” says Dr. Michael Steiner, Porsche’s R&D chief. He’s not wrong. For all the talk of kilowatts and charge curves, what matters most is whether living with an EV feels simpler than it does today.

With inductive charging baked into the Cayenne EV, Porsche is betting that eliminating the charging cable could be the next tipping point for mainstream EV adoption. Whether customers will pay extra for the convenience—or whether rival automakers will follow suit—remains to be seen. But if Porsche can pull it off, charging an electric car might soon feel as effortless as charging your phone.

Source: Porsche