Editor's Letter: A Month of 1000-HP Test Cars Left Us Shaken

Illustration By Brett Affrunti|Car and DriverFrom the September/October 2025 issue of Car and Driver.Apologies to my friend Ian and his son. In the excitement of launching the 1234-hp Lucid Air Sapphire, I neglected to tell them to protect their necks. A car with this much power needs a preflight checklist, because hitting 60 mph in 1.9 seconds is a violent event, like being rear-ended by a ’58 Continental. That sounds bad; it’s not. Recently, several 1000-hp cars visited our Ann Arbor digs within one month. First came the 1064-hp Corvette ZR1 that you read about in our July/August issue. Soon after it left, we gathered 24 electric models for EV of the Year testing. A few of the vehicles had over 1000 horsepower, including the Air Sapphire and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.Turn to page 17 to find out what won our EV of the Year laurels. You may notice that fewer pages are devoted to that contest—we’ve read your letters, and some of you thought there were too many in the past. Folks who do want to read more about it can visit caranddriver.com/ev-of-the-year for the full complement of EV stories.Still, those of you who dismiss EVs do so at your own peril. The Air Sapphire and the Taycan Turbo GT are phenomenal sports sedans—and the quickest. Nothing we’ve driven can touch them to 60 mph, not even the 1578-hp Bugatti Chiron Super Sport I tested a few years ago. In the past year, the 1019-hp Taycan Turbo GT in both standard form and Weissach trim—a deranged lightweight version with no rear seat—reached 60 in 1.9 seconds. On its standard tires, the Sapphire called up 60 in 2.1. Lucid wanted a retest on the optional Lucid-spec Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS Elect rubber—Porsche’s times were set on its version of that tire. With more traction, the 1234-hp Lucid hit 60 in 1.9 seconds. By the quarter-mile, it pulled away from the Porsche, hitting that mark in 9.1 seconds at 155 mph.View PhotosJessica Lynn Walker|Car and Driver If a 1000-hp sports sedan sounds silly, that’s because it is. What’s it like to drive? Intoxicating. Addictive. A dopamine drip controlled by your right foot. I’m 21 again. My hair is back. It’s 72 degrees and sunny. And that’s with just a toe on the accelerator. Floor it, and blurry trauma ensues. Hang on. In the Lucid, the steering tussles as the front tires search for traction. Make sure you have plenty of space ahead of you—Wyoming would be good. Self-preservation kicks in fast. Your foot lifts off the go pedal as fast as a hand from a hot stove.Forced to choose between these quarter-million-dollar EVs, I’d go for the Taycan Turbo GT, even though its name is dishonest. On Porsche’s EVs, Turbo is a trim level, not a part. This is the best sports sedan ever made—full stop. The Taycan’s superpower, aside from its super power, is Porsche’s Active Ride suspension, which can move wheels up and down to duck and dodge whatever the road throws at the car. Standard on the Turbo GT and a $7140 option on the Taycan’s 4S trim and up, Active Ride blends near-Rolls-Royce comfort with the body control and handling of a supercar. It makes the Taycan the best-riding car I’ve ever driven. Ride and handling are uncompromised. You sit low like in a sports car, but the suspension can lift to help you get in and out. Two fenders outline the front view. The steering is tactile and perfectly direct. The only real dynamic demerit is that the brakes lack initial bite since they favor regeneration with the first bit of pedal travel, but you get used to it. I’m also getting used to the fact that I like driving any Active Ride–equipped Taycan more than the 911 Carrera GTS. I’m as surprised as you. I should have warned you to brace yourself.
Source: caranddriver.com