Photo: Tesla | Edited
On June 2, Tesla set a new record on the Nurburgring racetrack, upsetting Porsche, the previous record holder. Tesla lapped the famous racetrack's Nordschleife (North loop) in 7:25.231 minutes, eight seconds faster than the Taycan. Rumor has it that the record didn't last long, as Porsche is preparing to mark its 75th anniversary and is hard at work defending the Nurburgring title.
When Porsche launched the Taycan in 2019, it needed something to assert its racing pedigree in front of Tesla and make the new EV stand out. A Nurburgring record was believed to settle the contest for the best EV on the market, and the Taycan had no problem lapping the 20.8-km (12.9-mile) northern loop in 7 minutes and 42 seconds. But that scratched Elon Musk's ego, so a beautiful rivalry began. Since then, Tesla recouped the title of the fastest electric sedan on the Nurburgring in 2021 (7 minutes and 36 seconds) and lost it again to the Taycan Turbo S in 2022 (7 minutes and 33 seconds).
That record resisted almost a year until Tesla launched the Track Package for the Tesla Model S Plaid. Comprising high-performance carbon-ceramic brakes, aluminum forged wheels, and a set of Goodyear Supercar 3R tires, the Track Pack was meant to unleash the beast inside the Model S Plaid. On June 2, a car equipped with the Track Pack smashed Porsche's record by 8.1 seconds, a massive difference in the racing world. As you can imagine, this didn't go well with Porsche, especially in an anniversary year.
On June 8, Porsche will celebrate 75 years since Ferry Porsche launched the 356, the brand's first model. Rumor has it that a more powerful Taycan, which was in development for a while, will be announced that day. Thought to be called Taycan GT, the 1,000-horsepower EV was tuned on the Nurburgring to become a Tesla Model S Plaid killer. Tesla snatching the record less than a week before the 75th anniversary rattled the Porsche engineers and test pilots, leading to frantic activities on the famous race track.
It suffices to say that insiders claim Porsche has already shattered Tesla's record. It's nothing official for now, but people familiar with Nurburgring testing swear it happened, and we have no doubt it did. Porsche is probably delaying the announcement until June 8, although we're sure Tesla will do its best to spoil the celebration. Regardless of how this dispute ends, settling it will take a long time. We're sure this EV record will go back and forth between Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.
In the meantime, some people are already contesting Tesla's record, claiming it wasn't achieved with a completely stock car. Misha Charoudin, a YouTuber and race driver enthusiast who has driven the Model S Plaid himself, talked about the car's stock suspension, which he considered "horrible." This is why he was almost sure the record car had custom suspension. He pointed to the massive negative camber visible in the record pictures to support his claims. This is less important now, though, as the record appears to have been broken anyway. We look forward to seeing Tesla's reply.
That record resisted almost a year until Tesla launched the Track Package for the Tesla Model S Plaid. Comprising high-performance carbon-ceramic brakes, aluminum forged wheels, and a set of Goodyear Supercar 3R tires, the Track Pack was meant to unleash the beast inside the Model S Plaid. On June 2, a car equipped with the Track Pack smashed Porsche's record by 8.1 seconds, a massive difference in the racing world. As you can imagine, this didn't go well with Porsche, especially in an anniversary year.
On June 8, Porsche will celebrate 75 years since Ferry Porsche launched the 356, the brand's first model. Rumor has it that a more powerful Taycan, which was in development for a while, will be announced that day. Thought to be called Taycan GT, the 1,000-horsepower EV was tuned on the Nurburgring to become a Tesla Model S Plaid killer. Tesla snatching the record less than a week before the 75th anniversary rattled the Porsche engineers and test pilots, leading to frantic activities on the famous race track.
It suffices to say that insiders claim Porsche has already shattered Tesla's record. It's nothing official for now, but people familiar with Nurburgring testing swear it happened, and we have no doubt it did. Porsche is probably delaying the announcement until June 8, although we're sure Tesla will do its best to spoil the celebration. Regardless of how this dispute ends, settling it will take a long time. We're sure this EV record will go back and forth between Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.
In the meantime, some people are already contesting Tesla's record, claiming it wasn't achieved with a completely stock car. Misha Charoudin, a YouTuber and race driver enthusiast who has driven the Model S Plaid himself, talked about the car's stock suspension, which he considered "horrible." This is why he was almost sure the record car had custom suspension. He pointed to the massive negative camber visible in the record pictures to support his claims. This is less important now, though, as the record appears to have been broken anyway. We look forward to seeing Tesla's reply.
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