Porsche breaks Nürburgring EV record

Porsche just did the most Porsche thing possible with an EV. It took the Taycan Turbo GT, added a track-focused Manthey Kit, sent Lars Kern to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and came back with a 6:55.533 lap on May 7. That matters because the Nürburgring is still the scoreboard for performance credibility — especially in Germany, and especially for a brand that wants its electric cars to feel like real Porsches. The bigger point is that Porsche is pushing the Taycan upmarket on engineering just as a lot of the EV market is still fighting over discounts. ### What exactly did Porsche break? Porsche reset the Nürburgring Nordschleife record in the “electric executive cars” category with a Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package fitted with the new Manthey Kit. The lap covered the full 20.832-km circuit in 6:55.533, with factory development driver Lars Kern at the wheel. Porsche and Nürburgring both published the run on May 7. ### What is the Manthey Kit? Basically, it’s Porsche’s track-day upgrade package, developed with Manthey, that squeezes more lap time out of the base car without turning it into a different model. For the Taycan, the kit changes the wheel-and-tire setup, aerodynamics, chassis tuning, and software calibration for power delivery. Porsche says the package will be available as a retrofit for Taycan Turbo GTs with the Weissach Package, with ordering starting in June. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why is 6:55 such a big deal? Because seven minutes is a psychological wall at the Nordschleife, and because EVs are still fighting an old stereotype — fast in a straight line, heavy in corners, and vulnerable to heat on track. A 6:55 lap says the Taycan is not just brutally quick once. It says Porsche can manage weight, tires, aero, and battery performance well enough to do a full, brutally demanding lap at elite pace. (newsroom.porsche.com) Nürburgring’s own note says the run beat the previous class record by more than 9 seconds. ### Didn’t the Taycan already hold records here? Yes — and that’s part of why this is interesting. The pre-production Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package had already set a 7:07.55 official Nordschleife lap in early 2024, which Porsche framed as the best time for a production electric car and the fastest four-door of any powertrain at the track. This new run goes much further, showing Porsche still had a lot of margin left with a more aggressive setup. (nuerburgring.de) ### Is this the fastest EV full stop? The category language matters. Porsche and Nürburgring are talking about the production electric executive-car class, not every EV ever built under every rule set. But in practical terms, the message is simple — Porsche has reclaimed the headline with a road-based Taycan derivative, and it beat a recent challenger by a meaningful margin. That is enough for marketing, and honestly that is the real game here. (nuerburgring.de) ### Why does this land differently right now? Because the broader EV market is in a weird place. Plenty of brands are still leaning on aggressive lease deals and incentives to move inventory in 2026. So Porsche’s pitch is almost the opposite. It is not saying, “Look how affordable this EV is.” It is saying, “Look what this EV can do that almost nothing else can.” That is a safer lane for a luxury performance brand when the mass market is still sorting out demand and pricing. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Who is this really for? Not the average EV shopper. This is for buyers who want proof that electrification does not mean softness, compromise, or appliance vibes. The Taycan Turbo GT was already Porsche’s most powerful production car, and the Manthey version pushes that identity even harder. Think of the Nürburgring lap as a certification stamp — not for commuting, but for brand belief. (msn.com) ### So what’s the bottom line? Porsche did not just set a lap record. It sharpened the argument for high-end EVs at a moment when much of the industry is still selling on financial sweeteners. That contrast matters. If the next phase of EV competition splits into “cheap enough” and “special enough,” Porsche is making a very clear bet on the second one. (porsche.com)