All-electric Porsche Taycan ‘papped’ being tested against Tesla on Stelvio Pass

Porsche’s new all-electric saloon the Taycan has been filmed performing benchmark performance tests against a Tesla Model S P85D on the Stelvio Pass in Italy.

The Taycan will consider the Tesla one of its closest rivals when it launches in 2020, so it’s essential that the German brand hits the Model S where it hurts in terms of performance and dynamics.

Frank Cooreman caught a glimpse of the cars – two Taycans and a Model S – being tested and posted footage on TaycanForum, which is a discussion site centred around the new Porsche.

The video begins with the three cars setting off from a car park, showing that the new Taycan is a similar size to the Tesla. They’re then seen going down one side of the winding Stelvio Pass – once named by the BBC’s Top Gear as the greatest driving road in the world.

However, with public traffic sharing the road, the two Porsches and the Tesla had to be content with relatively modest speeds. It’s reckoned that this was less of a performance test and more one to see the effects of moderate altitude on the battery systems, as well as benchmarking suspension and handling.

The Tesla in question is no longer the brand’s range-topper. In fact, the P85D model isn’t available for sale any more – with its position in the line-up flanked by the latest 75D and P100D models, both of which have greater range.

The P85D offered 682bhp from its twin electric motors and had a quoted range of 310 miles. The 75D produces 415bhp and is theoretically capable of 334 miles, while it’s claimed the P100D can reach up to 424 miles. Although real-world ranges are significantly lower than these theoretical maximums, the P100D is still capable of more than 300 miles on a charge.

The Taycan is expected to match this and should provide similar performance. But it won’t be chasing the Tesla’s 0-60 times – a Porsche executive said earlier this year that the Taycan (then called the Mission E) would instead be able to maintain a high speed for a long time, as in autobahn cruising or on a race track.

The brand’s head of electric vehicles, Stefan Weckbach, was asked about Tesla’s ability to achieve 0-60mph in under three seconds and responded: “But only twice – the third attempt will fail. The system is throttled.

“Porsche drivers won’t need to worry about anything like that happening. The Mission E will offer reproducible performance and a top speed which can be maintained for long periods.”

Weckbach also reassured drivers that the Taycan would continue the firm’s long heritage of producing cars for driving enthusiasts. “The longitudinal and lateral dynamics of the Mission E will be typical of a Porsche and represent a real treat for any driver,” he said.