It is probably not the electric car that will put an end to the race for the best time on the Nordschleife, the northern loop of the Nürburgring circuit in Germany. Quite the contrary, since Porsche and Tesla are engaged in a regular battle between their respective electric sedans, the Taycan and Model S.
The Tesla Model S Plaid stood out in 2021 with a time of 7:35.579 min over the 20.832 km route, at the same level as supercars from a few years ago. However, it was beaten in 2022 by the most powerful Porsche Taycan, the Turbo S, timed at 7:33.35 min, before taking back the crown in 2023. A Model S Plaid equipped with the Track Package then completed the race. route in 7:25.231 min.
The record for the fastest production electric car on the Nordschleife is now held by the Rimac Nevera, with 7:05.298 min. A stunning time in absolute terms, but relatively disappointing for a hypercar with almost 2000 hp. As for electric cars not approved for the road, the Volkswagen ID.R remains the fastest, with a time of 6:05.336 min achieved in 2019.
A new, even more efficient Taycan
The Porsche Taycan which won this time is a pre-production model. This is probably a future version (Turbo GT?) Even more powerful than the Turbo S and its 560 kW (761 hp) in Overboost mode. It was measured at just 7:07.55 min, which places it very close to the Rimac Nevera, although much less versatile than the German sedan.
Porsche is not yet sharing the full lap video, but says it will be released in mid-March. Hopefully we will learn a little more about the production model on that date. In the photos published by Porsche, we can already notice that the aerodynamics have been largely reworked, in particular with a large spoiler.
It should be noted that the car used for this performance was equipped with a roll cage and bucket seats, for safety reasons, as is usually done even for production model records. It was a Porsche development driver, Lars Kern, who achieved this feat. The driver is already very familiar with the green hell, where he has distinguished himself at the wheel of multiple models from the Stuttgart manufacturer’s range.