Mystery pre-production Porsche Taycan refresh demolishes Tesla Model S Plaid Track Pack Nürburgring lap time

A pre-series Porsche Taycan has shaved 26 seconds off Porsche’s previous lap time around the Nürburgring. (Image source: Porsche – edited)An in-development version of the Porsche Taycan beat both the previous Taycan Turbo S and the Tesla Model S Plaid with Track Pack around the infamous Nürburgring by over 15 seconds. The new Porsche was driven by Porsche Development driver Lars Kern and fitted with a roll cage and bucket seats for safety purposes.

We’ve known about the existence of a new Porsche Taycan for a few months already, with previous spy shots confirming testing around Germany’s legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife race track. Now, Porsche has not only confirmed the existence of the new Taycan, but it has also given us a tantalising look at what the new EV is capable of, posting a Nordschleife lap time of just 7:07.55.

The Tesla Model S Plaid previously laid claim to the record for the fastest lap time around the Nürburgring in a production EV, reportedly clocking in at 7:25.231 seconds. The Taycan and the Model S Plaid have a bit of history when it comes to Ring records, with the Taycan Turbo S having taken the record from the Plaid back in August 2022, only for the Plaid to draw blood once more in June 2023 after the release of the Track Pack.

However, previous records dealt in single seconds. Porsche’s latest effort in the unnamed Taycan propelled it ahead of the Model S Plaid by nearly 18 seconds, right into hypercar territory. Although it may not count as a record for a production car, given the modifications Porsche made in the name of safety, the only electric vehicles putting up faster times than the new Porsche Taycan are the limited production Nio EP9 (7:05.12), Rimac Nevera (7:00.93). The McLaren P1 LM (7:05.12) and Porsche 918 Spyder (6:57.00), which are PHEVs, rather than BEVs, are also considerably faster than the new Taycan. 

Tesla’s recent release of the Model S Plaid Track Package, which improves the EV’s brakes, wheels, software, and suspension, finally increased the top speed of the EV to the promised 200 mph+ mark.

Buy a Peak Design Wireless Charging Mobile Phone Car Mount on Amazon or read about the development of Tesla EVs in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk. 

Julian van der Merwe – Magazine & Specialist News Writer – 522 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

My interest in tech started in high school, rooting and flashing my Motorola Defy, but I really fell down the rabbit hole when I realised I could overclock the i7 930 in my Gigabyte pre-built PC. This tinkering addiction eventually lead me to study product design in university. I think tech should improve the lives of the people using it, no matter the field. I like to read and write about laptops, smartphones, software and trends in technology.

Julian van der Merwe, 2024-01- 3 (Update: 2024-01- 3)