New Porsche Taycan smashes Tesla Model S Plaid Nurburgring lap record
A new Porsche Taycan will be introduced very soon. Porsche tested the pre-series Taycan at the Nurburgring before its release and the car has lapped the Nurburgring 26 seconds faster than the existing model as well beating the Tesla Model S Plaid record by 18 seconds.
Porsche development driver Lars Kern drove the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport to a time of 7:07.55 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In comparison, the Tesla Model S Plaid's time of 7:25:31 was recorded in June, and Porsche and Tesla have been competing for the crown since 2019.
Porsche's Taycan broke the record in 2019, with Tesla soon after testing early Model S Plaid variants.  The high-performance Tesla broke the record in 2021 with a lap time of 7:35:579. Porsche reclaimed the championship a year later, but Tesla reclaimed it in June with an upgraded track package.
The timing places the new EV just over 2 seconds behind Rimac Nevera's current record of 7:05:298. The new Porsche Taycan is still the fastest four-door EV to lap the Nurburgring.
The new upcoming range-topping Taycan, expected to be dubbed the Turbo GT, looks to feature changed headlamps and a modified front bumper, as well as the inclusion of a huge back wing over the trunk. Porsche has not disclosed any technical specifications, but the Taycan Turbo GT is estimated to make close to 1,000 horsepower.
Kevin Giek, head of the model line at Porsche said, "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. And the impressive thing about it is that over several laps, Lars clocked almost exactly the same time."
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