Los Angeles - The Porsche GTS badge has always aimed to find the best balance between performance, luxury and value within its specific model range. Lots of sporty flavour is ensured, but it’s never as extreme as the top performance models.
And now this racy nomenclature has been applied to the Taycan electric car range. With an output of 440kW, the Porsche Taycan GTS slots neatly between the 420kW Taycan 4S model and the 500kW Turbo version. The same goes for its price positioning, with the model set to sell for R3 169 000 in South Africa, where the 4S retails at R2.62m, the Turbo at R3.46m and the Turbo S at just over R4m.
Porsche claims a 0-100km/h time of 3.7 seconds for the Taycan GTS, making it 0.3s quicker than the 4S and exactly half a second slower than the Turbo.
But it’s the driving range that impresses the most. According to the German sportscar maker, the 93.4 kWh battery fitted to the new model enables a range of up to 504km on the WLTP cycle, making it the first Taycan variant to breach the 500km mark.
As is the case with other GTS models in the Porsche range, the new Taycan variant gets its own unique chassis tuning. The model comes with adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management, and rear-axle steering can be ordered as an option.
Porsche’s Sport Chrono Package is part of the deal for GTS owners, while the Sport driving mode is more dynamic than the equivalent on other Taycan derivatives.
As you would have come to expect from GTS models, there’s also a unique exterior package that comes with a generous helping of black or dark trim details. The side skirts and rear diffuser, for instance, are finished in high gloss black, while the headlight elements are finished in matt black.
The GTS rolls on 20-inch Taycan Turbo S Aero Design Wheels as standard, painted in Satin Black, but customers can opt for 21-inch rims instead.
The cabin is flavoured up with numerous Black Race-Tex features as well as a standard brushed aluminium interior package with a black anodised finish. Porsche is also offering an optional GTS interior package, that comes with Matt Carbon finishes for the steering wheel as well as the decorative surfaces on the doors and centre console. Contrasting seams for the seats, doors and dashboard come in either Carmine Red or Crayon.
Although it’s not clear exactly when the first Porsche Taycan GTS units will arrive in South Africa, the importer says the order books are now open. Although a Sport Turismo estate version will be available in other markets, Porsche Centre SA will only offer the saloon for now.