Tesla vs Porsche, by Motor Trend

A Tesla Roadster Sport or a Porsche Boxster Spyder? That is one interesting comparison, even if actually, it’s a double comparison. It’s electric versus gasoline, and Tesla versus Porsche. In that second match, Germany’s a clear winner, and I was expecting that. Sure, Tesla Motors is a brilliant start-up, but there’s no way in can compete with german engineering excellence, proven over decades of experiences on every racetrack allover the world.

The Porsche has better brakes, a better steering, and accordingly, it laps Willow Springs raceway faster than the Tesla. Still, it’s a huge accomplishment for the little american company to have been able to build an electric car that supports the comparison with a Porsche. It can even beats it in some acceleration tests, thanks to the advantageous torque curve of an electric motor.

The data from Motor Trend is here. The Tesla leads by 0.6 second in the 0 to 60 mph, but then the Porsche roars back, and is 1.2 second faster in the 0 to 100 mph test. Sadly, one most important thing that is missing from Motor Trend’s test is energy consumption. They only give the official data from the EPA. I would have like it if they had given a much stronger emphasis on that point.

The Tesla can run on renewable energy, and it’s a zero emission car. You can forget all those peak oil, and climate change issues. So the Porsche might have won this time, but it will take an electric Porsche to win over a Tesla in a few years.