A prototype of Porsche’s forthcoming Taycan has lapped the ‘Ring 26 seconds faster than before.
Porsche has set a blistering lap time around the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife in a new top-spec version of the updated Taycan that it plans to debut in the next few months. The lap time for the 21km German circuit of 7 minutes and 7.55 seconds represents a 26-second improvement on the mark of the previous Taycan Turbo S set back in 2022, hinting at some major upgrades to the EVs powertrain and chassis.
Driven by Porsche development driver Lars Kern in August of 2023, the car that completed the lap is close to the production version according to Porsche. Only essential safety elements such as the roll cage, racing bucket seats and belts were added. Kevin Giek, head of the Taycan model line 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.”
Yet beyond the super fast lap time, Porsche is still hesitant to mention exactly what changes have been applied to the new Taycan flagship.
The prototype itself shows off some new elements such as a new front bumper with a more defined splitter and GT3 RS-style front and rear air deflectors. Also visible is a static rear wing, although the rear bumper remains out of sight in these images. We can also note a different wheel design probably running a specialised set of Michelin high performance EV tyres.
As for the motors powering the new Taycan, we expect a significant rise in power compared to the current Turbo S, jumping from the existing car’s 545kW on overboost to somewhere nearer to 750kW. In order to supply the uprated motors, we expect the battery pack and its peak power delivery to be improved, although any specifics about battery size and its chemistry are still under wraps.
The chassis is almost certain to have been given an upgrade, with a potential application of the new Panamera’s fully active suspension that would essentially replace the existing Turbo S’s PDCC mechanical active anti-roll system. Other chassis tech already available on the Taycan such as rear-wheel steering and power torque vectoring will also be integrated, creating what Porsche hopes to be the most involving EV to drive yet.
While the notion of a 750kW EV isn’t foreign to fans of Tesla or Lucid, the Porsche Taycan has typically remained the more involving to drive both on account of its smaller physical size and the German company’s chassis expertise. We’ll have to wait to find out for certain what Porsche has in store, but in any case the car will be part of a crowded 2024 for new EVs from the German brand.