Porsche Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Breaking Lap Records at Road Atlanta

When Porsche went to Road Atlanta to set an EV lap record with the Taycan Turbo GT, it brought a couple other cars along. Again with factory driver Patrick Long at the wheel, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid set a record for gas-powered sedans, and the Cayenne Turbo GT set a record for SUVs around the Rome, Georgia track. 

The Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid set a 1:30.98 on a mostly dry track with some damp spots, going a little over a half-second quicker than the old, non-hybrid Panamera Turbo S. Porsche fit the car with its most aggressive tire option, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, and let Long loose.

Obviously, this new hybrid has a lot more power than the old Turbo S: 771 horsepower vs 620 horses. But another key advantage is Porsche Active Ride. This active suspension system keeps the body level in all scenarios, and helps distribute grip more evenly between all four tires. Long also praised Porsche’s improvements in hybrid-system calibration, saying it’s “so much more seamless in the regen and boost transition, it makes it very easy to get right up to the edge.”

The Cayenne Turbo GT didn’t have a predecessor to benchmark, and the new model isn’t too different from the old one, save for some suspension tweaks and an additional differential cooler. This car was fit Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, its most aggressive rubber option. Long set at 1:34.32, which is impressively close to the Panamera considering its higher ride height, lower power output—650 hp—and no active suspension system.

Of course, both are a ways off the 1:27.15 of the Taycan Turbo GT, but you’d expect that given the EV has over 1,000 horsepower. But, Porsche does not hold the outright road-car lap record at Road Atlanta; that honor goes to the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, which recently set a blistering 1:22.8 around the track. You can bet Porsche will gun for that record when the new GT2 RS arrives.