The electric sedan Nürburgring lap battle raging between Porsche and Tesla is so hot right now. Back in June Tesla sent a Model S Plaid with the optional “track pack” (carbon ceramics, increased top speed, and sticky Goodyears) to the ‘Ring to beat Porsche’s Taycan Turbo S lap time, and succeeded. Since 2019 the EV sedan lap record had fallen from 7:42 to just 7:25. Not wanting to be outdone, Porsche just set a new Taycan lap with an as-yet-unannounced Taycan GT model, running an impressive 7:07.
Normally a new ‘Ring lap record would be brushed off as inconsequential, and nothing more than corporate grandstanding. But this isn’t the first time Porsche has launched a new Taycan model by unveiling its Nordschleife lap time first. The difference here is that the Taycan Turbo and later Turbo S were not built specifically for track work, while the Flacht GT department is said to have had a big hand in developing this new as-yet-unnamed model. And that makes sense, because you can see from these photos that it has lower suspension and much more aggressive aero.
“Twenty-six seconds is half an eternity in motorsport. Lars’ lap time of 7:07.55 minutes on the Nordschleife is sensational, putting the Taycan in the same league as electric hypercars,” says head of the model line, Kevin Giek. “And the impressive thing about it is that over several laps, Lars clocked almost exactly the same time.”
“I pushed as hard as I could, but that was really all I could do,” says Kern.
To give that time some perspective, it’s just two seconds slower around that track than the all-out electric hypercar Rimac Nevera, and several seconds quicker than Kern’s own record in the 991.2-generation Porsche GT3 “Clubsport Package.” It’s still a far cry from Maro Engel’s 6:35.7 in the Mercedes-AMG One, but this electric sedan is only four seconds off the Cayman GT4 RS Manthey and seven seconds off the current GT3. Crucially for Porsche, it’s 18 seconds per lap quicker than Tesla’s Plaid.
Porsche will only call the car a “pre-series Taycan” without committing to its production intent, but mentions that “for safety reasons, the test car was equipped with the legally prescribed roll cage, along with racing buckets.” The German automaker also says the full-lap video will be released in mid-March, presumably when the production-ready version of the car makes its debut.
Want more Aussie car news? Here’s every EV we’ve reviewed in the last two years, all the EVs we can expect down under soon, and our guide to finding EV chargers across the country. Check out our dedicated Cars tab for more.