Ride along on Porsche Panamera’s ’Ring record lap
There probably aren’t that many entrepreneurs who feel the need to lap the Nürburgring on their way to a business meeting. But those that do are in luck—Porsche has set a new “executive car” lap record at the Green Hell with the 2021 Panamera.
Porsche test driver Lars Kern hustled the car around in just 7:29.81, as you can see in the video below. That’s 13 seconds faster than the outgoing Panamera Turbo S, despite the track layout being a tad longer now. Porsche hasn’t released any technical details on the new car other than revealing that it was wearing sticky Michelin Cup 2 tires to set the record. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 is expected to be boosted to 620 hp, while tweaks to the suspension and steering are also on the menu.
Kern’s lap is quite something to behold. As he bounces the Porsche over curbs and leans hard on the brakes and throttle it seems extremely stable for such a large vehicle being driven on a knife edge. Kern is the epitome of calm as he hits an indicated 297 km/h (184 mph) on the straight. We wonder if he had the massage seats on?
