The Gotland Ring racetrack in Sweden describes itself as one of the most exciting and demanding circuits in the world. The place where all the action usually takes place is called the Northern Loop and stretches for 3.2 km (2 miles) on the Swedish island of Gotland. But there’s another, 4.2 km (2.6 miles) section no one dared to venture on. Until now.
The reason for the lack of action on the southern section is the fact that the track is still under construction, and there’s no asphalt on it. But that didn’t stop the brand new Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid from taking a shot at it though.
Driven by German racing driver Tim Schrick, the SUV navigated the course – you can see the action in the video below – in 3:51 minutes. Since no other car has ventured on this particular track before, the time set by the Cayenne is, for now, the record to beat.
The idea of doing this didn’t simply pop into Porsche’s head. The images recorded at the Gotland Ring are supposedly part of an undisclosed film shoot.
The Turbo S E-Hybrid was introduced to the range earlier this month as the most potent Cayenne available.
The plug-in hybrid is using a conventional 4.0-liter internal combustion V8 engine paired to an electric motor, to deliver a total of 680 ps and 900 Nm of torque. The drivetrain is controlled with an eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission.
In this configuration, the new top of the range SUV can reach 100 kph from a standstill in 3.8 seconds and achieves a top speed of 295 kph (183 mph).
The 14.1 kWh battery allows for a range of up to 40 km (25 miles), at speeds that can reach 135 kph (84 mph) when the car is set in all-electric mode.
The PHEV Cayenne is already on sale, retailing from $161,900 for the regular body style and $164,400 for the Coupe.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News