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

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.

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