RS e-tron GT, Taycan Welcome Tesla to Teutonic EV Drag Battle

Inter-family battle between Audi RS e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan goes intercontinental with Tesla, Germans best the hype machine.

For a long time, the luxury EV space belonged to one entity: Tesla. However, the old guard entered the castle in the late New ’10s, exposing the California ego machine’s flaws and cracks. Among them? The Volkswagen Group, home to Audi and Porsche. The result? The Taycan, and the new RS e-tron GT.

How would the Teutonic titans fare against the aging Hollywood star, though? Carwow‘s Mat Watson invited Yiannimize and Richard “RSymons RSEV” Symons to the runway for an intercontinental drag battle with an inter-family twist, featuring the RS e-tron GT, Taycan, and Model S Performance.

“Let me tell you about this Audi,” said Watson. “It has two electric motors, one in the front, one in the back, so it’s four-wheel drive. And combined, under launch control conditions, it puts out 646 horsepower, [612 lb-ft of torque]. It’s quite heavy because of all the batteries; weighs in at 2.3 tons. It’s quite expensive as well, starts from just under [$159,000].”

Meanwhile, the Taycan weighs the same, and shares the same motors and two-speed gearbox. Yet, it makes 687 horses and 627 lb-ft of torque, and is priced under $164,000 in the United Kingdom. Finally, the Tesla weighs the same, but its pair of motors deliver 778 horsepower and 840 lb-ft of torque. It costs less than either of the Teutonics, too, at less than $100,000. On paper, the Tesla wins. But that’s paper, not a wet runway.

“In the end, with a better launch, the Tesla won,” said Watson. “Just.”

It also took two tries for the Tesla to sweep the RS e-tron GT and Taycan. Before that, the Audi took the first two digs off the line, with the Taycan between a rock and a hard place. However, it would never be this good for Tesla again.

During the first rolling race from 50 mph, the Taycan beat the RS e-tron GT by a car, while the Tesla (in one-engine-mode) rolls to finish dead last. On the sporty settings, it looked like the Model S would win, only for its speed limiter (set to 155 mph) to kick in. The Audi would’ve tied the Porsche, but it, too, had a speed limiter (166 mph). Yet, the family beat the American overall.

Finally, on the stop from 70 mph, the Porsche’s special brakes won the day. Next was the Audi, then the Tesla.

“Mat, what I’ll say is Richard spoke a good game, give it the big talk, and then, just faded into the beyond,” said Yianni. “[Richard,] what happened to your supersonic Tesla? ‘I’ve got the fastest one, lalalalalalalala.’”

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Cameron Aubernon

Cameron Aubernon’s path to automotive journalism began in the early New ’10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn’t, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she’s written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city’s NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aside from her contributions to Audi World, Aubernon can be found all through the IB Auto Group family, including 6 Speed Online, LS1Tech, and Team Speed. She also has her own independent automotive blog, Aubernon Highway.

Aubernon can be reached through her public Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. She is wary of those she doesn’t already know, though; thus, she may not respond to messages sent.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.