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The McLaren Senna is a truly incredible automobile. It was designed in the spirit of the legendary McLaren F1 and P1 with one purpose: a street-legal hypercar to honor Ayrton Senna with the fastest possible track times. It is based on the McLaren 720S with a mid-mounted 4.0-liter turbocharged V8. But it has been modified with aggressive aerodynamic elements and is extremely lightweight. McLaren only built 500 of these track beasts.

You won’t be shocked to hear that while MotorTrend was testing the Senna in 2019, Randy Pobst broke the Laguna Seca production car track record. He laid down a lap time of 1:27.62, which stands to this day.

Green McLaren Senna racing around a track.
McLaren Senna | McLaren

What will shock you is that Porsche just came within a hair of beating this time. The automaker set a record of 1:27.87. And they did it with a sedan. An electric one.

Porsche released its answer to the Tesla Model S in 2019: the Taycan electric sports sedan. And the EV took off, even outselling the 911. In March 2024, Porsche rolled out a new top trim for the Taycan: the Turbo GT, which makes 1,020 horsepower.

The Porsche development team gathers around the 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT after driver Lars Kern sets the Laguna Seca EV lap speed record
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT sets Laguna Seca EV lap record | Porsche

This proper four-door weighs in at 5,213 pounds. That’s literally two McLaren Senna’s. But it is far from a straight-line car. It’s tuned to adapt its power output on the fly. For example, it only makes that full 1,020 horsepower with launch control on. Its engines make a mere 780 horsepower for continuous driving.

Yes, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT starts at $231,995. But the McLaren Senna started at $2 million. What’s more, the limited-run Senna is already completely sold out. Electric sports cars are going to make levels of performance attainable at price points previously unimaginable.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Smoking Tires on a test track
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Smoking Tires | Hyundai

At the other end of the spectrum is Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N. This fully redesigned performance version of the brand’s popular retro-styled EV is expensive for a Hyundai ($67,475). But its faster to 60 mph than the outgoing Dodge Charger Hellcat (3.25 seconds vs 3.8 seconds), and it costs $20k less.

I know, the Porsche Taycan and McLaren Senna have very different buyers. I know the Hyundai Ioniq and a Hellcat have very different buyers. That said, the price of performance is plummeting. This is a new golden era of the sports car.

Next, read more about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, or watch Porsche’s Laguna Seca record attempt in the video below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.