Not so fast: Tesla’s Nurburgring record may already have been broken by Porsche – report

Days after Tesla announced it had posted a record time around Germany’s Nurburgring circuit, new information suggests it may have already been broken by Porsche.

YouTuber and racing driver Misha Charoudin – who films videos and works as a driving instructor on the Nurburgring – has made claims online that the Tesla Model S Plaid’s most recent record may be short-lived.

On 4 June, Tesla announced the Model S Plaid broke the electric-car lap record with the optional Track Pack, a higher top-speed, track-day tyres, and upgraded brakes, with a video accompanying the announcement.

In a written post online, Mr Charoudin raised concerns about the Model S Plaid being modified in order to set the seven-minute, 25.231-second lap, accusing the Tesla of being far from “production specification”.

“Anyway, whatever it is, this Plaid’s record is already broken anyway,” he added, “I can only guess that announcement will follow on 75th birthday of someone/something or anytime soon.”

Mr Charoudin appears to be referencing Porsche, which is set to celebrate its 75th anniversary with a much-publicised event on 8 June 2023, set to see number of announcements expected from the German sports-car company.

Porsche has been photographed testing a higher-performance version of its Taycan electric car, with improved aerodynamics and up to 1000 horsepower (735kW), according to some reports.

This car is due for unveiling sometime this year, pending any delays – and the June 8 event could be used as the stage for its debut.

The 761kW Tesla Model S Plaid – which isn’t available in Australia – and the current 460kW Porsche Taycan Turbo S have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat competition for the fastest electric-car time around the iconic circuit for years.

Porsche had reclaimed the fastest lap time for an electric car in August 2022, beating Tesla’s time set in September 2021.

The latest lap time for the Tesla was eight seconds faster than the best time set by Porsche last year.

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