Tuesday 27th August 2019

Porsche Taycan sets production EV 'Ring record

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

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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."

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[GTiWILL]

An impressive time however I turned the video off after a few minutes. I found the lack of engine noise made it boring to watch.

[WCZ]

n1

[Dave Hedgehog]

if they need someone to beta test one for say 3-5 years i am available

[GroundEffect]

I really, really, really want one as my everyday car.

[dapper]

Really impressive results with the endurance testing

[gigglebug]

It looks like a relatively easy car to drive at that speed, there is only ever, what looks like to be, the minimum amount of steering input required by the driver to hustle it around. I suppose I've got used to seeing the bat st crazy laps where the driver appears to be holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.

[Fetchez la vache]

article said:

Porsche test driver Lars Kern lapped the track in 7 minutes and 42 seconds, beating the existing record of, well, nobody

another article from last week said:

Lynk & Co 03 is the fastest FWD and four-door at the Nordschleife, lapping in 7:20

Which is the four-door record holder then?

[kambites]

gigglebug said:

It looks like a relatively easy car to drive at that speed, there is only ever, what looks like to be, the minimum amount of steering input required by the driver to hustle it around. I suppose I've got used to seeing the bat st crazy laps where the driver appears to be holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.

I suspect that's partly down to the fact that it's electric - I'm sure it'll have four wheel torque vectoring coupled with a traction/stability control system which can react far faster than one on an internal combustion powered car.

[130R]

Fetchez la vache said:

Which is the four-door record holder then?

Project 8 with 7:18. That's not an EV though obviously.

[gigglebug]

kambites said:

gigglebug said:

It looks like a relatively easy car to drive at that speed, there is only ever, what looks like to be, the minimum amount of steering input required by the driver to hustle it around. I suppose I've got used to seeing the bat st crazy laps where the driver appears to be holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.

I suspect that's partly down to the fact that it's electric - I'm sure it'll have four wheel torque vectoring coupled with a traction/stability control system which can react far faster than one on an internal combustion powered car.

Yeah, you are probably right. Not necessarily relevant to this particular car, how many will track one anyway, but long-term will the implementation of such systems in future EV sports cars make it less enjoyable for the driver who values their own influence being the defining factor on the vehicle's ability to go faster? It just looks like, possibly wrongly on my behalf, that the main outcome of these systems will be to make it far easier for average drivers to replicate what good drivers are capable of. Not necessarily a bad thing as such. Of course they will also help a good driver achieve faster times but it's a slightly moot point if they aren't getting as much satisfaction out of it by doing so.

Maybe I've got it all wrong though.

[Helicopter123]

So much want for one of these.

[gigglebug]

It's a really cool car by the way.

[daveyc86]

GTiWILL said:

An impressive time however I turned the video off after a few minutes. I found the lack of engine noise made it boring to watch.

Likewise it lost me within 2 mins...

[anonymous-user]

Such a shame Porsche seem to have bottled it with the looks... I appreciate it's still camouflaged but it's looking increasingly like an unremarkable slab sided Panamera to me rather than the Mission e. If they had stuck to the script I'd have a deposit down no question.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 27th August 14:04

[simonrockman]

All this work to show that it's real engineering rather than marketing and then they ruin it by calling one model the "turbo"

[Nerdherder]

Dave Hedgehog said:

if they need someone to beta test one for say 3-5 years i am available

Another sign-up here.

fblm said:

Such a shame Porsche seem to have bottled it with the looks... I appreciate it's still camouflaged but it's looking increasingly like an unremarkable slab sided Panamera to me rather than the Mission e. If they had stuck to the script I'd have a deposit down no question.

Agreed, but still I'd sign up for an the long term test programme.

[Dave Hedgehog]

fblm said:

Such a shame Porsche seem to have bottled it with the looks... I appreciate it's still camouflaged but it's looking increasingly like an unremarkable slab sided Panamera to me rather than the Mission e. If they had stuck to the script I'd have a deposit down no question.

Edited by fblm on Tuesday 27th August 14:04

indeed, if you pause the external video from the ring the details / design is all there is just been turned from 11 down to 4 ...

i still want one

[u9ge]

It would be good to see it in white, with the stickers off... I am guessing they won't as it would be obvious how toned down it was.

Given a Leaf has doubled in range for the same money in 6 years it will be great to see where we are in another 6.

[ntiz]

Do we know if it had an out lap or do more than one?

A big interest for me with this car was the claims that it’s high speed range would be a big improvement on the current offerings.

[TartanPaint]

The fully charged video shows which bits are stickers. I think it's not tooooo far off the concept. Mirrors are a shame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP9kokeyxGU