High voltage

Two decades ago, the most famous car show of all time aired one of its most legendary episodes. Bugatti had created a production car with an unheard-of 1,000 PS, so out of scale with its contemporaries that its only competitor could surely be an aircraft. Top Gear had to find a winner between the two. In a race from Italy to London, the Veyron won by the narrowest of margins.

These days, things have changed. Richard Hammond is on YouTube and restores classic cars; May makes gin and owns a pub. And a car with a four-figure power output? Well, now you can get one with four doors, four seats and… zero tailpipe emissions. The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is the ultimate expression of the company’s flagship electric sports car. With 1,108 PS (Taycan Turbo GT: Electric power consumption* combined (WLTP) 21.2 – 20.5 kWh/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 0 g/km, CO₂ class A ) and aided by Porsche Active Ride, which tips it into corners, it laps the Nordschleife in just over seven minutes. Hammond’s channel DriveTribe thought it was time for a rematch, with an electric twist.

Charging infrastructure for cars has been progressing exponentially, as Porsche Charging Service customers know, but for planes it’s in its infancy. Step in Aerovolt, which is creating a UK aircraft charger network. It also owns a Pipistrel Velis Electro electric plane with a battery around a quarter of the size of the Taycan’s.

The race started on the Devon-Somerset border, with Hammond in the Porsche and private pilot May flying the plane. On the start line, there wasn’t an engine rev to be heard. ‘3… 2… 1… go!’ The Taycan scrabbled down the wet runway, deploying nearly 300 PS – more than most cars make in total – through each Pirelli P Zero R. Perhaps not 62 mph in 2.3 seconds, given the conditions, but fast enough to leave the plane in its wake turbulence.

The plane would be able to fly the whole way at 80 mph – but it also had to stop halfway to recharge. The Taycan would reach the finish line using perhaps a third of its available range. On paper, they’d arrive at almost exactly the same time.

In the Taycan, the satnav was followed, speed limits were adhered to, and music was enjoyed via its Burmester stereo. The plane’s charging stop was at Thruxton, and it covered the 35-mile journey there in the same time the car had done a mere 10. But, by the time the plane had finished its stop, the Taycan had reached Guildford.

The finish line? It could only be the home of Top Gear: Dunsfold. The first time Richard and James had returned since they stopped presenting the show in 2015. The lead crew arrived at Dunsfold first and watched on as the Pipistrel became visible a couple of thousand feet above. It touched down, peeled right, and taxied to the start line of the circuit – the precise finish line of the race – slowing to a stop. Nose to nose with the Porsche.

Ten minutes. Over 100 miles, that’s all the difference had been. Unplanned, and true to life, the car had won. There was a prize for the winner: a celebratory glass of May’s James Gin. Richard and James’s return to their spiritual home could have been poignant, but as the setting sun glowed orange over the Purple Sky Taycan, it felt more like a fitting tribute.