Prior to its hitting dealer lots, the new top dog Porsche Panamera has felled a lap time at the famed Nürburgring.
Yes, there is no shortage of slivers into which Nürburgring lap records can be sliced. Someone could theoretically claim the fastest lap time for a CCM bike being ridden without brakes on a Tuesday, for example. And this is without noting the Nürburgring’s lengthy ribbon of asphalt has so many twists and variables that even one tiny slip up could change a leaderboard entirely. Still, it is a relevant endeavor – one which is undertaken by drivers far better than this writer.
Last Friday, Porsche test driver Lars Kern set a new best time of 7:24.17 minutes for luxury class cars with combustion engines and hybrids, in the future top model of the Panamera series. That’s about 5.6 seconds quicker than a comparable model from the previous generation, a Panamera Turbo S. The new top dog trim has yet to be officially titled by Porsche but the smart money has it called the Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Continuing to play cards close to its chest, the manufacturer also didn’t announce horsepower specifics for the machine which made the fast lap. However, we know a Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid is good for 670 horsepower out of its 4.0L V8 hybrid powertrain, so appending an ‘S’ to that trim could boost output to something closer to 735 ponies. After all, a particularly stout E-Hybrid variant of the Cayenne is capable of 729 horses.
Porsche said the lap was turned in as stock a car as regulations would allow, meaning there was a racing seat and safety cage installed. At each corner were Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, measuring 275/35R21 up front and 325/30R21 at the rear. Also on board were an optional carbon aerokit to help eliminate lift on the front axle and a Gurney flap on the adaptive 4-way rear spoiler.
[Image: Porsche]
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