The obsession with Nürburgring times these day is quite something and although some manufacturers could not be bothered, Porsche are particularly keen to ensure its name stays on the Nordschleife’s board. In fact, it appears to be so important to Porsche that it’s part of the design philosophy for the company’s next hypercar.
While talking to Top Gear recently, head of Porsche Motorsport, Frank-Steffen Walliser, the topic of ‘Ring records came up in a discussion about the successor to the 918 Spyder.
“It must achieve 6 minutes 30 seconds at the Nürburgring,” he reportedly told Top Gear. “I don’t care about the drivetrain, 6 minutes 30 seconds is the target. Sports cars are defined by their performance, then we have to look how to achieve it. An electric car in 6 minutes 30 seconds is quite a challenge.”
This sort of lap time is certainly achievable but will take one serious creation to approach that benchmark.
The question now is whether or not the as-yet-unknown successor to this car will be a hybrid model, fully electric, or old-school internal combustion. Whatever it ends up being, expect it to be fast. Real fast.