Yahoo Autos A Secret Porsche Panamera Variant Just Broke a Record at the Nürburgring
Porsche has set another lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife — this time beating the record for executive-class sedans. The record-setter is a still-unannounced variant of the third-generation Panamera — but the fact that it's quick enough to lap the standard-bearing track in 7 minutes and 24 seconds certainly helps us guess at what it might be.
The lap of 7:24.17 puts the car three seconds ahead of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ four-door, the outgoing record holder in what the official Nürburgring website refers to as the "executive class." It is five seconds quicker than both the previous Panamera Turbo S and a private test of the outgoing-generation BMW M5 CS. The time is also quicker than the best times set by the Carrera GT and 997-generation 911 GT2, among other older supercars.
As when top-level Taycan and Cayenne variants set their own lap records, Porsche has not announced what version of the Panamera actually ran the impressive lap time. Both of those models ended up getting the Turbo GT designation, a relatively new badge meant to serve as the equivalent to the GT3 / GT4 badges for track-focused versions of larger Porsches. This Panamera is likely a Turbo GT too, but it could also be a less extreme and still-unannounced third generation of the Turbo S.
The name will not be confirmed until the car is actually announced. Until then, all we know is that the new model is a hybrid with an aggressive carbon aero kit. Porsche says that more details – and an on-board video of the record-setting lap — will come soon.
You Might Also Like
