Porsche and Autocar magazine recently set a massive collection of new distance records for electric vehicles with a pair of Taycans, one Turbo S and one 4S. A crew of drivers and engineers set upon the legendary Brands Hatch circuit with a methodical pace to work toward thirteen new records! Basically running from sun up to sundown at the British track, the two near-silent electric Porsches pushed the boundaries of what can be accomplished in an EV. The most impressive of them all, however, was the 1000 kilometers record, set in just 13 hours and 25 minutes.
With Porsche on hand to provide support and fast-charging from a tractor trailer full of batteries, the records fell one by one in methodical fashion. Now, this wasn’t an out-and-out speed fest, as the drivers had to balance economy with speed to make these records happen. The goal was to try to lift and coast into the corner, carrying as much speed as possible through the apex and slowly feeding in the power. To create a traditional fast lap would scrub off too much speed with friction brakes and use too much energy getting back up to speed. This run was much more about flow and momentum than top speed and acceleration. Finesse.
Porsche also supplied a few of the drivers to supplement Autocar’s Colin Goodwin, in the shape of Jonathan Palmer, Le Mans victor Richard Attwood, and a handful of Porsche Carrera Cup stars. Clearly they all knew what they were doing, because the records fell in rapid succession. Over 13 hours the team of six drivers and two cars set records for 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 kilometers, as well as for 50, 100, 200 and 500 miles. They also turned in one-hour, three-hour, six-hour and 12-hour records.
I can’t help but note that all of these records would be easily beaten by any team looking to do the same, but on an oval track. Give me an Electrify America station on pit lane at Daytona International Speedway, and I could beat every one of these records solo.