Porsche Taycan sets production EV 'Ring record

New all-electric model lays down a marker at the world's most arduous proving ground

With a full reveal of its all-electric Taycan just around the corner, Porsche has begun setting out exactly what we can expect from the highly-anticipated model. Having previously emphasised its focus on "reproducible performance" in a thinly-veiled dig at existing rivals, the manufacturer has sought to demonstrate exactly what it means in a series of trials.

Late last month it ran a pre-production vehicle from 0-120mph twenty-six consecutive times in a bid to prove that the car's acceleration doesn't hit the same cliff edge sometimes seen in cars like Tesla's Model S. The all-wheel drive Porsche completed each run in under 10 seconds, with the difference between the quickest and slowest runs being just 0.8 seconds.

Next came an endurance run at Nardo, during which the 800-volt Taycan covered 3,425km over a single 24-hour period. Porsche claims the car did this at speeds of between 195-215km/h (120-134mph) although the distance covered means the car averaged a speed of 88mph over that time, suggesting that a good chunk of it was spent at the side of the track, attached to a fast charger. One likely much more powerful than the units currently available to UK drivers...

Finally comes this week's news of a four-door EV Nurburgring record. Porsche test driver Lars Kern lapped the track in 7 minutes and 42 seconds, beating the existing record of, well, nobody, because it hasn't been attempted before - or not officially at any rate. Just doing it is a fairly impressive feat in itself, though, with the famously-demanding circuit pushing even conventionally powered vehicles to the limit, let alone ones laden with several hundred kilograms of rapidly-heating batteries.

All of which bodes well for the real-world viability of Porsche's landmark EV which, as of the end of July, already had over 30,000 pre-orders on its books. How many more customers will be queuing up to put their money down for a Taycan of their own, though, will depend on just how close the car can get to replicating those numbers on the road.

Speaking of the Taycan's achievement Stefan Weckbach, Vice President of the line said: "The Taycan mastered its Triple Endurance Run superbly. First, our electric sports car demonstrated the reproducibility of its performance as part of a strenuous test involving 26 successive acceleration runs from zero to 200 km/h. Then it completed 3,425 kilometres within 24 hours in Nardò without any issues and now the record at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Numerous factors contribute to this performance and the efficiency of the powertrain, also at high speeds. These include the chassis systems that react within a fraction of a second as well as the outstanding aerodynamics."