The Porsche Taycan's Clever Two-Speed Gearbox Proves Drag Race Launches Aren't All About Power

The Lucid Air and the Porsche Taycan are two of the quickest production sedans on the planet right now. It's only natural to see how they'd compare in a drag race.

Carwow on YouTube brought the two cars to an airstrip to see how they stack up against each other in its latest video. The Lucid is a Grand Touring Performance model, meaning a gargantuan 1111 hp coming from the two electric motors. The Taycan is the most potent Turbo S model, with a lower (but still very respectable) 761 hp.

The hosts perform a total of three standard drag races with standing starts, each with similar results. In the first race the Porsche gets a jump on the start, allowing it to sprint away and barely squeeze out a win. The next two races, though, are more telling as both cars get good starts. Both times, the Porsche gets the initial jump, but it doesn't take long for the Lucid to claw back the lead and cross the finish line in first.

We bet the Porsche's initial acceleration has a lot to do with its funky two-speed transmission for the rear motor, put there precisely for better acceleration purposes.

Carwow also does a handful of roll races from different starting speeds, where the Lucid walks away from the Taycan each time. The Air the clear winner when it comes to acceleration, but there is one aspect where the Porsche is better: Braking performance. It's able to easily out-brake the Lucid in a head-to-head stopping test. We'd be curious to see how the Tesla Model S Plaid and its new track package stack up against these two cars.

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