Tesla Roadster versus Porsche Taycan in cyberspace
The Porsche Taycan has only just arrived in Aus and the second-gen Tesla Roadster is yet to commence production, but a new rendering allows us to see what the two all-electric sports cars look like side-by-side.
The image, created by designer Alborz Heydaryan and originally published by Motor1, shows how the direct competitors shape up according to their official dimensions – with the Taycan the far larger of the pair.
While the cars share a similarly streamlined, sporty exterior design, the Taycan is markedly taller and wider than the Roadster.
In fact, at just under five metres long, almost two metres wide and 1.38m high, Porsche's newest model is more similar in size to Tesla's Model S.
But while it triumphs on the size front, the Taycan is outdone by the Roadster when it comes to performance – or at least, it does when you consider Tesla's claimed stats for the Roadster.
While the top-spec Taycan Turbo S does the 0-100km/h sprint in 2.8 seconds, Tesla claims the Roadster can do a 0-97km/h sprint in only 1.9 seconds, which in theory could be reduced to just 1.1 seconds with the assistance of Tesla's SpaceX rocket propulsion system.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims the system's 10 rocket thrusters will also enable the car to hover above the ground and accelerate "at the limit of human endurance".
Musk has also previously suggested on Twitter that, when it lands, the Roadster will possess a range of "above 1000km" on a single charge.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2019
By comparison, the Taycan's model-best range is 420km, courtesy of the 93.4kWh Performance Plus battery available on the Turbo and Turbo S (and as an option on the base 4S).
Power outputs for the Roadster are yet to be revealed, but the Taycan's outputs range from 390kW in the 4S to 560kW under overboost in the Turbo S.
As for top speed, Tesla claims more than 400km/h for the Roadster, while the Taycan's top speed is 250km/h across all variants.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2019
While Taycan pricing starts at $191,000 for the 4S in Australia, Tesla was taking orders for its base Roadster for US$200,000 (AU$288,133), plus a US$50,000 reservation fee.
The Roadster is still a way off yet, however, with production set to follow the Tesla Cybertruck's – meaning we likely won't see it before 2021 and possibly even 2022.