7 Seriously Fast Cars The New Porsche Panamera Turbo Just Beat Around The Nurburgring
Seven minutes, and 38 seconds. That’s how fast the new Porsche Panamera Turbo - a luxury-festooned car which probably weighs the best part of two tonnes - lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife. As with any new willy waving ‘Ring time, as soon as we heard it, we were thinking of other laps to put the porky Porsche’s lap in context. And it turns out the Panamera Turbo has claimed some impressive scalps.
Now, there are a couple of caveats to bear in mind before we go any further. Firstly, not all of these lap times are full-on manufacturer efforts, as is the case with the Porsche. Many are from magazines like Sport Auto, and while experienced drivers are used, they simply don’t have the budget and resources of manufacturers who will happily spend some time at the ‘Ring with a massive team of people sending a car round again and again.
The second caveat is tyres: some of these laps aren’t quite as recent as others, so if a few of the cars were to run again on modern, more advanced rubber, they might well clock faster times. Even bearing that in mind though, the Panamera’s time is an impressive one. Let’s take a look at a few of the cars it’s ‘beaten’…
Lamborghini Murcielago SV - 7min 42sec
Yep, a four-wheel drive, V12 Italian supercar from not that long ago is slower than a big four-door saloon. Exciting times…
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 - 7min 41.27sec
Mercedes SLS AMG - 7min 40sec
Porsche 911 GT3 (997) - 7min 40sec
One of the most important ‘scalps’ on the list is another Porsche: the previous-generation GT3, a car intended for the track, not wafting around in comfort.
Porsche 911 Turbo (997) - 7min 39sec
The Panamera pipping the 997 Turbo is arguably even more impressive than the GT3, since this was a proper manufacturer-backed effort. And don’t forget, we’re talking about a 473bhp supercar that’s significantly lighter than the Panamera. And speaking of lighter supercars…
Ferrari F430 Scuderia - 7min 39sec
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio - 7min 39sec
This is arguably the most important time here that the Panamera beat, as by besting the lighter, not far off as powerful Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, the Porsche can be given the unofficial title of ‘fastest luxury saloon at the Nurburgring’.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it the Corvette ZR1, not the Corvette ZL1?
Good spot sir! Have some Internet points.
No, it’s the Camaro ZL1, The Corvette ZR1 was quicker at 7 minutes 19 seconds. The Camaro Z28 was also faster by just 1 second
No, that is the Camaro ZL1.
You are wrong. CAMARO ZL1 not corvette lol
Thank you im a Mustang guy but i by no means think its oj to call a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a ZR1
correct me if im wrong Alfa are re posting there time as we speak
Noooo not the new Alfa :/
Lap times be damned, I still rather have the Alfa…
The automatic version did 7:33
Yep, the ZR1 did actually go faster in a few GM tests - I’ve replaced with the Mercedes SLS AMG!
Compared Panamera and R35, which is fast?
Now compare the luxury, which is better for businesspeople?
It looks like a morbidly obese 911.
I’m more shocked how a camaro is faster than a murcielago sv
Tires !! the camaro has a big tire advantage
it’s supposed to be a corvette zr1, not a camaro zl1. so don’t be shocked anymore lol
The Z/28 actually did a 7:37 around the ring faster than all of these cars
Maybe the SV driver was a noob LOL
But for real, even from a Camaro fan, I don’t know.
Now remove the rear doors, shorten the wheelbase slightly and you have a new 928
keep the wheel base! Lengthen the hood
An Alfa is an Alfa, the Porsche is an elephant sto I’d rather have Alfa xD
Let’s be honest though we’d rather have any car in this list more than a Panamera.
I’d rather have Panamera than Camaro, but you’ve got a point :) Though I guess Panamera may be cool in it’s own class - Though Rapide, Mercedes S and BMW 7 ain’t too shabby either.
I’d take the Merc or the other two Porsches over it for sure, but that’s as far as it goes with a list like this. The Porsche probably more reliable and possesses less sketchy build quality than all those Italians (and the Camaro) anyway. Viva la 4 doors!
Yep, I’d much rather have a Murcielago SV or a Giulia.