- Presenters Richard Hammond and James May take EV challenge
- Race across UK in Porsche Taycan Turbo GT an electric plane
- 100-mile sprint from Dorset to Surrey
- Filmed for DriveTribe channel
Telly stars James May and Richard Hammond have revived an old Top Gear format by racing a plane and a car across the south of England.
The car in question was an electric Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, a 1,108 PS behemoth being driven by Hammond.
Showbiz chum May, on the other hand, was piloting a fully-electric Pipistrel Velis Electro – one of the world’s first commercially available electric aircraft.
They both set off from Henstridge Airfield on the Somerset/Dorset border and finished at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, the former workplace of the two presenters and home of the famous TV test track.
It’s a journey that covers roughly 100 miles, with the entire thing being documented by Porsche and filmed for the DriveTribe channel.
While May’s plane has a cruising speed of around 100mph, he also had to stop half way at the Thruxton Aerodrome in order to recharge.
Mr Hammond, on the other hand, had to abide by the speed limits despite his range-topping Taycan being able to accelerate from 0-62 mph in just 2.3 seconds, with Launch Control engaged.
The race itself apes a Top Gear challenge from almost 20 years ago, when May and Hammond shared the cockpit of a Cessna 182 as they raced from the Italian town of Alba to London against their co-presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, in a Bugatti Veyron.
So, who won this new battle? You can watch the full thing here:
And (spoiler alert) the Porsche just pipped the plane to the finish line.
The perhaps surprising thing is that there’s little between the two modes of transport when it comes to cost to purchase; the electric Pipistrel costs around £170,000 while the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT begins at £189,200.
A Porsche spokesperson said: “The past two decades have brought about an enormous increase in the power outputs of cars that are suitable – and intended for – everyday use. Such high levels of performance were, only a relatively short time ago, achieved only by supercars and hypercars. Today, Porsche makes this super high performance much more widely available, accompanied by corresponding levels of control and safety thanks to a huge variety of innovative systems.”
You can lease a Porsche Taycan with Select Car Leasing. To explore your finance options, speak to the experts in our Specialist Leasing division.
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