Porsche has taken a performance prototype of a pre-series Taycan electric sports sedan to the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany, where it shaved a monstrous 26 seconds off the lap time of a previous visitor, a Taycan Turbo S Sport.
The upcoming performance variant is widely expected to wear Turbo GT badging, and the prototype that recently zipped around the 20.8-km Nordschleife loop has recorded an official lap time of 7:07:55.
That's just a couple of seconds short of snatching last year's astonishing record set by the Rimac Nevera, but 18 seconds quicker than a Tesla Model S Plaid and some 26 seconds faster than the Taycan Turbo S Sport's effort in August 2022 – which had the same driver at the wheel, Lars Kern.
"Twenty-six seconds is half an eternity in motorsport," said head of the Taycan model line, 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 prototype, which was fitted with a roll cage and bucket seats per legal requirements, is reported to have been "a good 25 km/h faster heading into the Schwedenkreuz" than the Taycan before it, which "put the distance between the pre-series Taycan and the current Turbo S at more than 1.3 kilometers."
A video of the complete lap from onboard cameras is promised for March. Porsche has yet to confirm the production schedule for the new Taycan.
Source: Porsche
