Porsche Taycan beats Tesla Model S time to set new Nürburgring record

When it comes to bragging rights in the automotive world there are few bigger than holding the lap record around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

When it comes to the fastest time recorded to complete a lap of the fearsome 12.9-mile circuit in a production electric car, the Tesla Model S Plaid took the crown last year. However, it has just been defeated.

Porsche now has the crown having lapped the track in its showroom-available Taycan Turbo S in just seven minutes and 33 seconds – some two seconds under the time set by Elon Musk’s fastest car sold to the public.

Porsche announced the new record on Wednesday, with its development driver Lars Kern at the wheel of the high-performance EV.

It sees the German brand retake the title it lost to the Tesla last year, having previously held the fastest recorded time since 2019 in an earlier iteration of the most potent Taycan on sale. 

The £142,400 battery-powered sports car used in the latest feat was equipped with a new performance kit, which is currently only sold in Germany and not yet confirmed for the UK market.

The performance package adds unique 21-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa sports tyres that are road legal but made from the same compound used in race rubber. 

The kit includes a software update to the Porsche chassis control system to improve handling. 

Aside from the required roll cage and racing seats, the Taycan used was an entirely standard production vehicle you could buy in a dealership today. 

Porsche says the vehicle used weighs the same as a showroom model and the powertrain has not been mechanically tweaked.

The current Turbo S produces 617bhp, can hit 62mph from a standstill in 2.8 seconds and has a limited top speed of 162mph. 

‘In the past, only thoroughbred super sports cars got into the 7:33 range,’ explains Kern following his record-breaking run. 

‘With the new performance kit I was able to push even harder, and the car was even more precise and agile to boot.’

The lap time was recorded on camera, with the hot lap footage released with the confirmation from TÜV Rheinland that it is now the fastest ever circulation of the woodland track in a mainstream electric-only car.

‘We’re delighted that the Nürburgring record for electric cars is back in Porsche hands,’ said Kevin Giek, vice president of the Taycan model range. 

‘This lap time not only shows how much potential lies in our new performance kit, but also confirms once again the sports car genes of the Taycan.’

Last month, the famous German sports car brand said it was recalling 40,000 Taycan models worldwide over concerns regarding a wiring harness under the front seats.

Sliding the chairs forwards and back could potentially cause damage to the wiring and could deactivate the airbags and seatbelt tensioners. 

Porsche UK confirmed that it had notified customers about the recall in June and has already carried out checks on vehicles at its workshops around the country.

It is the second major recall issued for the £75,000-plus Taycan EV after over 43,000 models were called back in July last year in regards to an electronic glitch that caused a sudden loss of power.

While the Porsche now holds the crown for fastest electric production car, it’s over a minute slower than the outright battery-vehicle record.

That is help by the Volkswagen ID.R, which was originally created to compete at the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb. 

In 2019, it lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a time of six minutes and five seconds.