THE FASTEST PORSCHE EV FROM ZUFFENHAUSEN IS A *TAYCAN
While EVs remain a controversial subject, especially if you mention them at a drag strip that’s populated by gas-guzzling monsters, you cannot deny the astounding performance they offer up. The whole point of EVs was to get the planet to move away from fossil fuels to something more sustainable, but many argue that the manufacturing process involved with creating the battery packs that EVs need is more destructive to the planet than mining for oil. If we throw that part of the conversation out and we look purely at performance then EVs certainly do hold their own. Entry-level EVs can hit 100 in less time than a modern hot hatch, and EV people carriers can stick with modern sportscars up to silly speeds. The instant power from an electric motor is hard to match, and wheel spin can be easily negated thanks to the motors being controlled by clever software that can feed just the right amount of power to keep traction at an optimum. With the massive power generated rather easily by electric motors, combustion engines have a real fight on their hands, and it really does seem like their future is in jeopardy. One drawback is the weight of the batteries needed to give an EV some decent range, and many believe that the extra weight means the cars won’t handle as well, but clever suspension geometry and electronic systems have negated that to a large extent. We’re seeing better-handling EVs pop up all the time, and Porsche is one automaker that has the recipe dialled in. Porsche development driver Lars Kern posted a Nordschleife lap time of 7:33 in a Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport sedan with the optional Performance Package in August 2022, which was mad fast, but that time was just shattered.
This time Kern was in the pilot seat of a pre-series Taycan whose designation is yet to be revealed, and he took that 2022 lap time and shredded it. Kern’s new official lap time chopped a full 26 seconds off the old time when he took the Taycan around the Nordschleife in 7:07.55. “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.” Chatting to Kern, he said: “I pushed as hard as I could, but that was really all I could do.” The Taycan wasn’t in street trim, for safety the car was equipped with the legally prescribed roll cage and race-spec seats. Compared to the record set in 2022 in the Taycan Turbo S, the times and speeds were much improved, the pre-series Taycan was a decent 25 km/h faster heading into the Schwedenkreuz. To put that into perspective, by the time Kern crossed the finish line near Grandstand 13 (T13) , he would have only just been passing the entrance to the Nordschleife, about to enter the Antoniusbuche section, during the record drive in the Taycan Turbo S. This puts the distance between the new pre-series Taycan and the current Turbo S at more than 1.3 kilometres – a figure that illustrates the leap in performance achieved on the 20.8 km course in Germany’s Eifel region. Check out the video that Porsche released for now that shows the car from an external view, and keep an eye out for the in-car video that will be released in the coming months. We’re keen to see just how busy Kern was in the cockpit.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows a development-spec Porsche Taycan kicking some serious ICE ass at the famed Nurburgring to secure an EV record. Will the production version be as good? Knowing Porsche, probably better: NEW 2025 Porsche Taycan beats Tesla Model S Plaid Nurburgring time by 17 seconds! | YOUCAR
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