With a time of 2:11.28 minutes, Porsche development driver Lars Kern claimed the title of the fastest series-production car on this Formula 1 track. It is also the first lap record ever to be officially recognized by the Shanghai International Circuit.
“Every racetrack has its own unique challenges. In order to show how complete the overall package for the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package is, we set out to break records on three very different courses around the world,” says Kevin Giek, Vice President Model Line Taycan at Porsche. “All good things come in threes. With top times in the Eifel region of Germany, in California and in China, the Taycan has achieved success internationally.”
Taycan Turbo GT reaches up to 300 km/h
“The capricious weather didn’t make life easy for us today. It rained lightly again and again, so the track was still slightly damp until the very end. I am even more impressed by the balance and performance of the Taycan now. At the end of the start and finish straight you need to apply the brakes extremely hard when entering the so-called snail curve,” reports development driver Lars Kern. The curve gets its name from its shape: it gets narrower as it progresses and is structurally modelled after the design of a snail shell. “Accelerating out of the snail curve is also extremely important in order to carry as much speed as possible into the subsequent left bend,” says Lars Kern.
“The rest of the track is also extremely fast. With the Taycan Turbo GT I saw exactly 300 km/h on the speedometer at the fastest point. The drivetrain of the Taycan Turbo GT, which is designed for maximum traction and performance, has once again proven its worth on the track.”
In addition, the attack mode was able to show its benefits on the Formula 1 track. With this boost function, up to 120 kW of additional power can be applied for 10 seconds. The function is available from a speed above 5 km/h, along with a battery temperature of more than 10° Celsius and an SoC of more than 30 per cent.
For safety reasons, the record-breaking car also includes full safety equipment with a cage and racing bucket seat. The conversion measures increase the overall weight and cannot be fully compensated by removing parts of the interior equipment. Optional Pirelli Trofeo RS tires were also fitted for the lap record.
With the addition of the Taycan Turbo GT and Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package, Porsche expanded its range of its all-electric sports saloons in spring 2024. In these cars, a more powerful and efficient pulse inverter that uses silicon carbide as the semiconductor material is used on the rear axle. Both variants can achieve short boosts of peak power, reaching over 1,100 PS (Taycan Turbo GT: Electric power consumption* combined (WLTP) 21.6 – 20.7 kWh/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 0 g/km, CO₂ class A , Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package: Electric power consumption* combined (WLTP) 21.3 – 20.6 kWh/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 0 g/km, CO₂ class A ; For more about the measurement method, see: https://www.porsche.com/gtr21).
With intelligent lightweight construction measures, Porsche has reduced the weight of the Taycan Turbo GT by up to 75 kg compared to the Taycan Turbo S. Several carbon parts contribute to this. The Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package is built with a sharp focus on the track, dispensing with the rear seats in favour of an even better power-to-weight ratio.
The Porsche Active Ride suspension with GT-specific tuning is included as standard on both models. In dynamic driving situations, this suspension ensures an almost perfect connection to the road thanks to a balanced distribution of wheel loads.