A ‘pre-series Taycan’ lapped the ring in just 7:07.55. This makes it the fastest electric Porsche to ever turn a wheel in anger around the legendary track. It has also buried the Tesla Model S Plaid’s previous record-holding 7:25.231 time by 17.681 seconds.
The new top-dog Taycan’s time is 26 seconds faster than the current Taycan Turbo S, and within spitting distance of the Rimac Nevera’s time of 7:05.298. The Porsche did receive minor modifications to make it safer and more trackable. Racing bucket seats and a roll cage were installed.
It’s unclear if a new battery has been installed in this trim, but a change in cell chemistry or design to better support long bursts of high current would be necessary if the Taycan Turbo S’ pack isn’t cutting it.
[Due to the long stretches that put extreme stress on the batteries] The equally significant part of this record is its repeatability. Porsche says its development driver Lars Kern clocked several laps, all of them almost exactly the same time.
With ~7+ minute times being common on Nurburgring, its less important for consistency given how long it is. Its definitely a bigger deal on shorter tracks like Laguna Seca, where many vehicles have a 1:40 lap time or less. (One lap is near meaningless on Laguna Seca given how short it is).
Still, long-term endurance is a big deal. You don’t want to have an overheated brake system just 10 minutes or even 30 minutes into a track day. High quality across the entire system (suspension, brakes, drivetrain) is needed on the ring.
Some tidbits from the article:
With ~7+ minute times being common on Nurburgring, its less important for consistency given how long it is. Its definitely a bigger deal on shorter tracks like Laguna Seca, where many vehicles have a 1:40 lap time or less. (One lap is near meaningless on Laguna Seca given how short it is).
Still, long-term endurance is a big deal. You don’t want to have an overheated brake system just 10 minutes or even 30 minutes into a track day. High quality across the entire system (suspension, brakes, drivetrain) is needed on the ring.