As you might already know, anything from Porsche that has the word Turbo in its name, is monumentally fast. Panamera is no exeption. But did you know that there are currently 3 versions of Porsche Panamera Turbo on sale? There is basic 550HP Panamera Turbo, then there is new and updated 630 HP Panamera Turbo S and then there is also the new updated range topper in the form of 700 HP Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Even the slowest of them is capable of 0 to 100 kmh in sub 4 seconds, with the fastest being the new Panamera Turbo S with just 3.1 seconds dash to 100 km/h. But streight line performance is not what Porsche Panamera is all about. There is something extraordinary in the way all Porsche Panameras drive around the corner, that separates them from all the others. It drives like it weights half as much as it really does, with composure, virtually no body roll and is also hugely confidence inspiring.
Therefore you shouldn’t be surprised that Porsche Panamera Turbo S also claimed the Nürburgring lap record for four door executive saloons with the time of 7:29.81, nicking it from the equally powerfull Mercedes AMG GT 63 S. For comparison that is more than 2 seconds faster than previous 991 generation of Porsche 911 GT3, which in itself is a huge achievement. I suggest viewing the full lap below to really appreciate the pace, this car is capable of.
But being in the first place didn’t last long for Porsche though. Yesterday Mercedes came back with revised AMG GT four door, put some sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2s on it and claimed the record back with the time of 7:27.80, which is almost exactly 2 seconds quicker still. It might sound like a lot, but 2 seconds over more than 20 km long track is not that noticable. Still huge kudos to Mercedes AMG for doing it, and lets say that now we just wait for the Porsche to return the favor. These two cars are actually so evenly matched, that it might just be down to the driver to set faster lap time in either.
