Porsche Taycan prototype smashes Nürburgring record | GRR
Porsche has hit the ground running for 2024, revealing that an upcoming version of the Taycan is now a Nürburgring lap record holder. Beating the 2022 Taycan Turbo S by a hearty 26 seconds, the car Porsche will only refer to for now as a ‘pre series Taycan’ rounded the Nordschleife in an astonishing 7:07.55 at the hands of Porsche development driver Lars Kern.
As well as clipping the last fastest Taycan by almost half a minute, this new version is now locking horns with serious internal combustion machinery, going quicker even than the 992 911 Turbo S.
Indeed this is a time indicative of an electric car that can deploy its considerable performance consistently and repeatedly over a long gruelling lap. Sustaining performance output over long distances has been a famous issue for many hot EVs up to this point, so Porsche is right to celebrate the ‘high reproducibility’ of this car’s pace.
“Twenty-six seconds is half an eternity in motorsport,” said Taycan model line head Kevin Giek.
“Lars’ lap time of 7:07.55 minutes on the Nordschleife is sensational, putting the Taycan in the same league as electric hypercars. And the impressive thing about it is that over several laps, Lars clocked almost exactly the same time.”
The bewinged version of Porsche’s all-electric super saloon has been Zuffenhausen’s worst-kept secret, lapping regularly for all to see and record. The model is easy to pick out from the average Taycan, featuring as it does a fairly prominent rear spoiler. It’s expected that like the Cayenne line-up, the model set to take over flagship status from the Turbo S will be called ‘Turbo GT’, though this is still to be confirmed by Porsche. Its full reveal will likely lead a mid-cycle update for the Taycan model, which first launched four years ago.
As for what’s under the skin of this ultra-fast new model? While the Turbo S uses two motors producing 625PS (460kW), with an over-boost function allowing 761PS (560kW) for a brief period, the new top-spec Taycan is expected to run three motors for a baseline power level of over 800PS (588kW). The back axle is expected to be blessed with the two motors, which ought to add some versatility to the car’s power distribution and torque vectoring.
Expect whatever this new Taycan is – Turbo GT or otherwise – to be revealed within the first half of this year, with Porsche saying full footage of the record-breaking lap is to be released in March.