New Porsche Panamera laps Nürburgring in 7:29.81 minutes

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Porsche is all set to reveal an updated Panamera, but before that, a slightly camouflaged series production car has to complete a full lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Because, why not? Test driver Lars Kern gobbled up all 20.832 km of it in just 7:29.81 minutes.

13 seconds faster
In 2016, Kern completed the circuit in the Eifel region in 7:38.46 minutes with a Panamera Turbo; this time was achieved over the then usual distance for lap record attempts of 20.6 km — in other words, without the around 200 metres long circuit section at grandstand number 13 (T13). Just for the sake of comparison, Kern with the new Panamera already passed the 20.6 km mark after 7:25.04 minutes, therefore making the new Panamera around 13 seconds faster.

At an outside temperature of 22°C and with a track temperature of 34°C, Lars Kern (32) started the lap at 1.49 PM on 24 July 2020 and crossed the finish line 7:29.81 minutes later. The prototype was equipped with a racing seat and a safety cage, and it was wearing Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires specially developed for the car and will be optionally available after the market launch. Most importantly, the 4.0L V8 biturbo motor pumps out an additional 80 metric hp, bringing the total to 630 metric hp.

The enhancements made to the chassis and the powertrain of the new Panamera were always noticeable during this lap on what is recognized as the most demanding race track in the world. In the Hatzenbach or also Bergwerk and Kesselchen sections in particular, the new setup of the electromechanical roll stabilization system remains consistently effective and provides the Panamera with incredible stability in spite of the bumpy track surface. At the Schwedenkreuz, the car benefited from the improved lateral dynamics and the increased grip of the new Michelin sports tires. I achieved cornering speeds there that I would not have believed possible with the Panamera. – Kern