Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric Beats Ferrari 296 GTS

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric weighs 5,831 pounds, making it the heaviest production Porsche on record and the defining detail of a drag-strip test that ends with an unexpected result.

In a Carwow straight-line comparison published 12 Sep 2026 by Mat Watson and Yianni Charalambous, the dual-motor Cayenne Turbo Electric outpaced the mid-engined Ferrari 296 GTS over the quarter mile. The outcome hinged on the electric SUV's prodigious torque and traction despite a curb weight roughly one ton greater than the Ferrari.

Power, weight and factory claims

Porsche's Cayenne Turbo Electric is rated at 1,139 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque, driven through all four wheels and supported by a 113-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that alone weighs about 1,322 pounds. Porsche lists 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and a manufacturer quarter-mile figure of 9.7 seconds. Curb weight for the test car was 5,831 pounds and US base price is $165,350.

The Ferrari 296 GTS uses a plug-in hybrid system combining a mid-mounted 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 and an electric motor for a combined 819 horsepower and 546 pound-feet. Ferrari publishes 0 to 60 mph in 2.4 seconds, a quoted quarter-mile of 9.8 seconds, a top speed of 205 mph, and a factory curb weight of 3,616 pounds. US starting price is $368,134, with common factory options of $70,000 to $150,000 often pushing examples toward a half-million-dollar sticker.

What happened on the strip

Carwow staged a series of standing and rolling starts, with Mat Watson driving the Ferrari and Yianni Charalambous in the Porsche. From a standstill the Cayenne repeatedly leapt off the line thanks to instant electric torque and all-wheel traction. In a number of roll races the Ferrari recovered ground and claimed short-run wins, particularly in longer half-mile passes where its lighter mass and gearing advantage became more apparent.

On the final runs the Porsche crossed the quarter-mile in 10.0 seconds while the Ferrari recorded a 10.2-second pass in Carwow's timing. In that test the heavier, more powerful Cayenne Turbo Electric beat the Ferrari 296 GTS on the quarter mile.

Brake testing favored the Porsche as well. Carwow noted the Cayenne's large cast-iron high-performance braking hardware working with Porsche Recuperation Management offered a slight advantage over the Ferrari's standard F1-derived carbon-ceramic material brakes in the specific test conditions.

The runs illustrated a simple trade-off: the Cayenne's extra mass costs it in some roll and midrange scenarios, but its electric drive and traction can overwhelm a lighter, high-output sports car at the line.

For context, Carwow observers pointed to past and planned competitors. The Tesla Model X Plaid, with about 1,020 horsepower, is no longer in production, and Lucid has announced plans for high-output Gravity variants. For now, Lucid's Gravity GT-S is factory-rated at 1,070 horsepower and is among the few models that could challenge the Cayenne Turbo Electric on paper.

The video and timing data come from Carwow's testing; manufacturer claims for 0-60, quarter-mile, top speed, weights and prices are cited as published by Ferrari and Porsche. The drag-strip result underscores how different architectures and weight distributions can alter straight-line performance in real-world runs, sometimes in ways that defy expected class boundaries.