Porsche demonstrated a performance prototype of the former series Taycan electric sports sedan at the Nürburgring race track in Germany. Its lap time was as much as 26 seconds shorter than the previous Taycan Turbo SSport.The upcoming high-performance model is widely expected to wear a TurboGT badge, with a prototype recently speeding around the 20.8km Nordschleife circuit recording an official lap time of 7:07:55.
This result is just a few seconds away from the amazing record set by Rimac Nevera last year, but 18 seconds faster than the Tesla Model SPlaid, and about 26 seconds faster than the Taycan Turbo SSport in August 2022, when the same driver Lars Kern was driving the Taycan Turbo SSport.
"For safety reasons, the test car was equipped with a legally required roll cage and racing bucket seats," Porsche reports.
Kevin Giek, head of the Taycan car series, said: "In motorsport, 26 seconds is half an eternity. Lars's lap time of 7 minutes, 07 seconds and 55 seconds on the Nordschleife is amazing, which puts the Taycan on par with electric supercars. What is impressive is that Lars ran several laps with almost the same time."
The prototype, which is fitted with a roll cage and bucket seats as required by law, reportedly "drove into Schwedenkreuz 25 km/h faster than the previous Taycan", "making the distance between the previous series Taycan and the current Turbo S more than 1.3 kilometers".
Porsche promises a full lap video will be captured via an on-board camera in March, but has yet to confirm production plans for the new Taycan.