Entertainment Swindon

Back to the future: Richard Hammond and James May have taken on one of their famous cross-country vehicular challenges, this time pitching the all- electric Porsche Taycan Turbo GT against an electric aircraft. Filmed for Hammond’s YouTube channel, DriveTribe, the 20-minute video sees Hammond and May race 100 miles across the south of the UK. It starts at Henstridge airfield on the Dorset-Somerset border and finishes at Dunsfold Aerodrome, the former home of the world’s most popular motoring show. It marks the duo’s first visit to Dunsfold in a decade.

The film follows the tradition of the pair’s famous on-screen races, which included challenging a Cessna aircraft, flown by James May, from Italy to London against a Bugatti Veyron, which aired exactly 20 years ago.

“We’ve had a frankly brilliant idea,” said Hammond, in the film, “we thought, we miss races”. “It’s been a while since we did an absurd race,” continued May, “and the winner gets as many James Gin and tonics as they like.”

In the unscripted challenge, the car and plane finished within minutes of each other. While the aircraft was unimpeded by traffic and able to travel at full speed all the way, it required a charging stop, levelling the odds. This was made possible by Aerovolt, a company providing charging infrastructure for aircraft, using their charger at Thruxton airfield in Hampshire. If the Taycan had needed to stop, a 10-80% charge would have taken as little as 18 minutes thanks to its charging rate of up to 320kW.

Hammond took to the wheel of the Porsche Taycan. “I left him for dead,” he said, after rocketing away from the plane as the challenge began, though the journey was not without its share of jeopardy on the road, albeit from an unlikely source…. “In the Taycan you’re stuck behind everything because it’s unbelievably fast.”

But it wasn’t just the straight-line performance that impressed. “The really clever stuff in this car is the suspension,” he said, talking about Porsche Active Ride. “It doesn’t just receive incoming bumps; it actively pushes the wheels to keep level. All the time I’m driving this car, it’s controlling its weight, its altitude, its attitude in a way I’ve never experienced, and it feels brilliant.” May, flying the aircraft, added his own inimitable observation: “I like the electric lifestyle. It’s smooth, quiet and polite.”

Launched in 2024, the Taycan Turbo GT is the company’s flagship EV. Producing up to 1108 PS, the four-door saloon car is capable of 0-62mph in 2.3 seconds, or 2.2 seconds when equipped with the Weissach Package.

Along with the introduction of the Turbo GT variant, the Taycan model line was extensively updated, following its original launch in 2019. It’s available in three body styles: Sport Saloon, Sport Turismo and Cross Turismo, as well as a range of power outputs. Its 105 kWh battery gives it a range of up to 421 miles / 678 km (WLTP). In the UK, the Taycan starts at £88,200.00 inc. VAT.