Taycan Gen1 vs Gen2 appearance - which looks better ?

[69Mach390]

I would say it's the J1.2 GT as the best, then J1.2 Turbo S and then the J1.1 Turbo S and everything else is a wash below that.

Since there are way more J1 owners than J1.2, expect the results to show that bias.

Maybe there is bias based on numbers?

Would be interesting to see how many 1.1 people think the 1.2 looks better and vice versa.

I would guess there are some 1.2 people who still prefer 1.1 looks, but bought the new one for performance and because it’s newer.

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[Kief]

I had a 2024 J1.1 CT 4S for a little over a year, and now a 2025 J1.2 4S sedan for the last few months, and I prefer the original J1.1 design cues. Then again, I just miss the CT uniqueness, and had I found a 2025 for the same price/spec, I would have definitely jumped on it

 

[Fish Fingers]

I've no skin in the game as I sold my J1.1 Taycan well over a year ago and moved to BMW.

No doubt for me, the J1.1 is the winner.

I sometimes admire certain Taycans looks while out and about, but its never J1.2 models.

 

[f1eng]

To improve the aerodynamics and thus range.

I would be surprised, based on 30 years wind tunnel testing Formula 1 cars, if the changes to the front made a significant difference.
The front is rarely where the losses occur (despite what non-aero people seem to think) as long as the flow blends nicely with the flow down the side.
The important thing for drag is to keep the wake small, so keeping the flow attached all the way to the back with downwash as it leaves gives the lowest drag, but matbe a bit of lift, hence spoilers on the saloon).
The wheels and tyres are a big drag item too - compare wheel widths of Taycan and Tesla...
That is why the drag of the estate car versions of the Taycan (ST and CT) are 20% higher than the saloon.
I forget the detail but lowering the rear of the roof by 15mm on one VW Golf model evolution was a big reduction in drag.

Anyway, if aero was the main reason for the v1.1 update they would not have standardised the electric charge doors

I don't like the V1.2, looks too much like a Panamera, which I also don't like the styling of.

The improvements in range and efficiency are not enough to compensate for the down sides for me to consider one.

 

[Flying ace]

I would say it's the J1.2 GT as the best, then J1.2 Turbo S and then the J1.1 Turbo S and everything else is a wash below that.

Since there are way more J1 owners than J1.2, expect the results to show that bias.

What's unique about the j1.1. Turbo S from any j1.1 with a sports design bumper? Is it just the front splitter?

 

[Vision]

What's unique about the j1.1. Turbo S from any j1.1 with a sports design bumper? Is it just the front splitter?

For me it's all the carbon fiber bits the S gets.

 

[Flying ace]

For me it's all the carbon fiber bits the S gets.

the carbon trim isn't unique to the Turbo though. It's part of a sport design trim package. IIRC, you can get it in gloss black, carbon or base (matte black) on all Taycans, and Sport Design was the base body on the Turbo S.

minute 3:20 in this video:

 

[prj]

Porsche blames the wheels, not the headlights for the change-
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a63292930/porsche-aerodynamics-2025-taycan-range/

The J1.2 Turbo has slightly worse CD value than non-turbo btw.
And then the Turbo GT is much worse.
The non-turbo facelift front bumper is the most optimal from that perspective.
Note also how close it is to the e-tron GT from the overall shape.

It's no surprise that when measuring the tuned cars the e-tron GT variants always had better 100-200 times, at least in case of J1.1.

The Taycan gave up some efficiency for looks. And this is especially pronounced now in J1.2 where they actually admit that the J1.2 turbo has worse CD.
So for the facelift they have a double purpose - give the lower trims a tiny bit more range and the higher trims a differentiating feature, where the customers will be more accepting of the fact that the range is a little less, as it's a "higher performance model" (even though the powertrain is identical).

 

[69Mach390]

The J1.2 Turbo has slightly worse CD value than non-turbo btw.
And then the Turbo GT is much worse.
The non-turbo facelift front bumper is the most optimal from that perspective.
Note also how close it is to the e-tron GT from the overall shape.

It's no surprise that when measuring the tuned cars the e-tron GT variants always had better 100-200 times, at least in case of J1.1.

The Taycan gave up some efficiency for looks. And this is especially pronounced now in J1.2 where they actually admit that the J1.2 turbo has worse CD.
So for the facelift they have a double purpose - give the lower trims a tiny bit more range and the higher trims a differentiating feature, where the customers will be more accepting of the fact that the range is a little less, as it's a "higher performance model" (even though the powertrain is identical).

They didn’t give up CD for looks on those models, they did it for downforce:

https://newsroom.porsche.com/en_US/products/taycan/aerodynamics-18554.html

 

[prj]

They didn’t give up CD for looks on those models, they did it for downforce:

https://newsroom.porsche.com/en_US/products/taycan/aerodynamics-18554.html

Your quoted article absolutely does not reinforce that point.

While on the Taycan Turbo GT they did do it for downforce, the Turbo and Turbo S do not have any extra downforce.

The "Turbo" bumper is just less efficient for looks. J1.1 was also less efficient compared to an e-tron GT. Even though the CD value was the same/better the frontal area of the e-tron GT is lower, and especially at high speeds the acceleration of e-tron GT with the same power was better.

 

[Sar]

I think it depends on the color. I greatly prefer 1.2 for Frozen Blue Metallic I have. It's sharper and more aggressive which bounces better off the playful color. The 1.1 has too much black on the face that just doesn't bounce off this color as well.

 

[69Mach390]

You men

Your quoted article absolutely does not reinforce that point.

While on the Taycan Turbo GT they did do it for downforce, the Turbo and Turbo S do not have any extra downforce.

The "Turbo" bumper is just less efficient for looks. J1.1 was also less efficient compared to an e-tron GT. Even though the CD value was the same/better the frontal area of the e-tron GT is lower, and especially at high speeds the acceleration of e-tron GT with the same power was better.

You mentioned the Turbo GT in your post. That giant wing isn’t for looks.

Here is some more info on what Porsche was doing with the 1.2 and CD and downforce:
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a63292930/porsche-aerodynamics-2025-taycan-range/

 

[prj]

You men

You mentioned the Turbo GT in your post. That giant wing isn’t for looks.

Of course it isn't for looks! Never did I claim that the aero on Turbo GT is for looks - I have no idea how you arrived at that.

The Turbo and Turbo S is purely for looks, and there is a fairly minor difference.

Turbo GT has 26% higher CD, it's because of rear spoiler and massive front splitter.

 

[prj]

Taycan 4 CT vs Turbo S CT:

The Turbo GT as a sedan is 0.29, so it's worse than a CT.

 

[prj]

The thing is though, Porsche plays a bit loose with the numbers.

Here's the numbers for US pre-facelift ST/CT:

Here's the numbers for US facelift CT/ST:

You can see the 4 and 4S is slightly better, and that's pretty much due to the front redesign.
I think the 0.26 on the pre-FL Turbo CT is a mistake though and it should be 0.28.

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