Upcoming Porsche Taycan variant smashes Tesla Plaid S Nurburgring time

A yet-to-be-named variant of the Porsche Taycan electric vehicle (EV) has posted a 7:07.55 lap time on the Nurburgring. Driven by a Porsche development driver by the name of Lars Kern, the “Pre-Series” version of the Taycan EV handily smashed the S Plaid’s recorded Nurburgring time of 7:25.25. 

The pre-series Taycan going around Nurburgring

When compared to the older Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport sedan’s record of 7:33 minutes, the Pre-Series Taycan version beat it by a whopping 26 seconds. It is also more than 15 seconds faster than the famed Tesla S Plaid around the German race track. 

To make this achievement sound even more spectacular, Porsche says that this unnamed version of the Taycan managed to maintain a projected 1.3-kilometer gap ahead of the Taycan Turbo S. It was also 25 km/h faster than the older model on specific corners of the track, particularly the notorious and historically dangerous Schwedenkreuz. 

Then again, it is around two seconds short of the Rimac Nevera which is the current fastest EV around the 20.8 km-long race track. Note that the Nevera is an ultra limited-edition 1,914-hp monster of a hypercar with a production number of just 150 units. Suffice it to say, it is on another level than the Pre-Series Taycan and the Tesla S Plaid. 

Lars Kern, the Porsche development driver who accomplished the astonishing lap time

By posting a seven-minute time in the ‘Ring though, this upcoming Taycan is already in the supercar big leagues. Other cars with Nurburing with lap times hovering around the same range include the McLaren 720S, Lamborghini Huracan Performante, and the Mercedes-AMG GTR Pro, among others. 

So, are there any details about this lightning-quick Taycan? Well, Porsche has yet to release those, but do remember that the Philippine-spec Taycan Turbo S already makes 616 hp. 

According to Porsche, the Pre-Series Taycan that took on the track nicknamed the “Green Hell” was also equipped with a roll cage, and racing bucket seats–for obvious reasons.

This version of the Taycan is on par with many supercars

Again, the German brand is particularly secretive about this powerful new Taycan variant, but it did say that a complete video of the lap will be released in March 2024. As for a launch date, this too is yet to be disclosed by Porsche. 

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