Hammond vs May: Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Beats Electric Plane
Richard Hammond and James May reignited their on-screen rivalry by staging a new cross-country race between the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and an electric aircraft. Filmed for Hammond’s DriveTribe YouTube channel, the 20-minute film sends the pair hurtling 100 miles from Henstridge Airfield on the Dorset–Somerset border to Dunsfold Aerodrome, former home of the world’s most popular motoring show and a location they last visited a decade ago.
The project echoes their classic contests, notably the televised Bugatti Veyron versus Cessna flight from Italy to London that aired exactly 20 years earlier.
Before setting off, Hammond announced, “We’ve had a frankly brilliant idea, we thought, we miss races.” May replied, “It’s been a while since we did an absurd race, and the winner gets as many James Gin and tonics as they like.”
In the unscripted challenge, the aircraft and car arrived within minutes of each other. The plane flew unhindered by traffic but paused to recharge at Thruxton Airfield in Hampshire, thanks to Aerovolt’s pioneering electric-aviation charger, which levelled the odds. Had the Taycan required energy, it could have regained 10–80 per cent in just 18 minutes via its 320 kW charging capability.
At the wheel, Hammond blasted off the line and joked, “I left him for dead,” yet every day, road realities soon slowed him. “In the Taycan, you’re stuck behind everything because it’s unbelievably fast,” he admitted.
He praised the saloon’s Porsche Active Ride suspension: “It doesn’t just receive incoming bumps; it actively pushes the wheels to keep level. All the time I’m driving this car, it’s controlling its weight, altitude, and attitude in a way I’ve never experienced, and it feels brilliant.” May offered his verdict on the electric aircraft from the cockpit: “I like the electric lifestyle. It’s smooth, quiet and polite.”
Porsche launched the Taycan Turbo GT in 2024 as its flagship electric car. Generating up to 1,108 PS, it sprints from 0 to 62 mph in 2.3 seconds—or 2.2 seconds with the Weissach Package—while its 105 kWh battery delivers up to 421 miles (678 km) of WLTP range. The updated Taycan family, available in Sport Saloon, Sport Turismo, and Cross Turismo body styles with multiple power outputs, now starts in the UK at £88,200, including VAT.
