It’s no secret that the Porsche Taycan is one of the fastest-charging electric cars in the world, but that doesn’t mean Porsche is satisfied. The German automaker is trying to push the bar and prove that it’s one of the best in the world, and it’s already well on its way towards this. Porsche was recently named the Best Luxury Brand by US News and World Report, proving that it can definitely produce a great car. Still, Porsche isn’t satisfied because it wants to prove that it’s a beast on the track as well as in the luxury and electric car arenas.

According to Australia’s CarsGuide, Porsche wants to return to the track at Nurburgring and prove that the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S can beat anything Tesla has to offer.

Previous record

Back in August, it was reported by the Porsche Newsroom that the Taycan Turbo had set a new record at Nurburgring. The 20.6-kilometer course is well known for being a testing ground for many race cars, and any car that is worth its speed makes its way here to prove itself. 

While electric cars were once considered to be slow and sluggish, Tesla has worked hard to change this stigma and has proven that electric cars can outpace traditional gas guzzlers on the track. Other automakers like Porsche which are trying to break into the electric car world are taking up the challenge, and want to beat Tesla at its own game.

That’s why the Taycan Turbo’s time of 7 minutes and 42 seconds was so impressive. Lars Kern, who test drove the Taycan, told the Porsche Newsroom, “The Taycan is also suitable for race tracks and it convincingly proved that here on the world’s most challenging circuit. Again and again, I am impressed at how stable the all-electric sports car handles in high-speed sections, such as Kesselchen, and how neutrally it accelerates from tight sections, such as Adenauer Forst.”

So why does Porsche want to top its own record? The Tesla Model S may have beaten it. 

Tesla Model S

Elon Musk is known for playing hardball, and he wasn’t about to sit idly by while Porsche is breaking records at Nurburgring. According to CarsGuide, “The company has spent the past week lapping the 20 km track with a pair of Model S (one red and one blue) with a variety of drivers. But reports that the American machine has smashed the Taycan’s 7m42sec record by almost 20-seconds are premature, at best, with no official timing or evidence released by Tesla itself.” 

Until we learn what the official times were, we don’t know if the Model S actually beat the Taycan Turbo, but Porsche doesn’t seem to be waiting around. In an effort to keep the crown, Porsche is going to bring the Taycan Turbo S to Nurburgring in an effort to beat not only Tesla’s new record but the Turbo’s record.

Taycan Turbo S

So how is the Turbo S going to help Porsche defeat Tesla? Well, according to Car Guides, “The Taycan Turbo S produces the same 460kW as the Turbo, but the launch control function unlocks a staggering 560kW and 1050Nm for a 2.5-second overboost burst, helping trim the sprint to 100km/h by 0.4 secs to 2.8 secs.”

In other words, Porsche appears to have had a faster car that they could have used the first time around, but deliberately choose not to.

Porsche denies the claim that it held back the Turbo S so that it could reclaim the throne in the event that Tesla beat the Turbo’s record. Car Guides reports that according to Porsche, it had already completed a 24-hour pre-launch test run and wanted to show off the fact that the Turbo has both endurance and speed. 

Is this true? Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter either way. There are no rules stating that you can’t break a record with a solid car, and then later reclaim said record with a better model. Either way, the Turbo S offers Porsche a chance to set an even greater record, as well as upping the competition with Tesla.