Many front tyres were ruined when we tried drifting the Taycan
A few years ago, I was working for a PR agency when Porsche conjured up a stunt involving the recently announced rearwheel-drive Taycan and asked our firm to help out. Chris Harris, who you’ll know from the TV as a very handy wheelman, was asked to try to break the world distance record for drifting an electric car on the wet circle at then Porsche Experience Centre at Hockenheim.
Step forward Dennis Retera an instructor at Porsche Hockenheim; a man whose quiet demeanour sits at odds with his unbelievable car control. Chris had done 18 laps. Dennis jumped in and did 210 laps as easily as if he was taking his kid to school, equivalent to 42.171km across 55 minutes. Dennis languidly sat with one hand on the wheel , making the minute adjustments needed to keep the rear tyres going faster than the fronts and calmly waiting for the battery to run out. His relaxed demeanour was at odds with the person counting each lap, who was desperately trying to concentrate and not lose count or indeed nod off in an oddly boring drift session.
Only small tweaks to the accelerator were required as he let most of the adjustment come from the steering. That’s why he did it one-handed – not to show off, but because he could be more precise with a small steering input. Being four-wheel drive, our Taycan GTS requires yet another tweak to the technique, especially on the dry skid pan we’re on today. Doubtless Dennis would adapt it if he was seeking another record, but I actually steer less than I’d imagined I would because the Porsche Traction Management is constantly juggling the flow of torque between front and rear tyres. That’s where the main area of control comes from – the power.
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