When was the last time you thought about the Guinness Book of World Records? Well, if you are anything like Porsche, you stay thinking about the records and how to break them. Most EV makers are trying to figure out how to make their cars more sellable. Apparently, while we’ve all been living our lives, the Porsche Taycan has been smashing records. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small; the Taycan wants them. Most recently, the 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S is the fastest car in the world – inside. 

How fast is the 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S?

Well, the electric Porsche is fast enough to knock down world records left and right. It has become the fastest four-door EV around the Nurburgring, did the longest continuous drift in an EV, and is the fastest EV around the legendary Road Atlanta race track. According to MotorTrend, most recently, with Len Keen behind the wheel, it set the official Guinness Indoor Land Speed Record.

It should come as no surprise that Porsche picked the top dog of the Taycan line, the 750-hp Turbo S, to shatter all these records. For this newest record, the German EV’s instant speed is what makes this whole thing work. Given the finite space available, Keen needed the fastest acceleration possible to hit the proper speed before, ya know, running out of room. When MotorTrend tested the Taycan, it put down a 2.4-second 0-60 mph sprint. That is the kind of acceleration that gets the job done. 

Where did they set this land-speed record? 

Where else would you go to do something fast, wild, and perilous? Well, New Orleans, of course. The New Orleans Convention Center is over one million square feet. This is the largest contiguous exhibit hall in the United States. With COVID still a royal pain in all our asses, the convention center has been empty for the better part of a year, the Taycan and its driver decided to make use of it. 

Even though the convention center is the perfect space to try this record size-wise, it shares a problematic feature of most convention centers, polished concrete floors. This is a serious issue because grip is important for the launch, but even more importantly, it is necessary to stop the car. As you know, this type of surface is much slicker than typical roads. 

The Taycan’s tires had to be heated to make them sticky enough to grip the polished surface. As MotorTrend notes, the Taycan also had to have its headlights removed to comply with the Guinness World record folks’ rules. The rules state that any car attempting to set a new record cannot be homologated, as the previous holder was a purpose-built Ford Fiesta piloted by Tanner Foust. 

How fast did the Porsche Taycan go?

After several practice runs, Keen finally hit 102.6 mph, which was recorded and verified by independent adjudicators. Tanner’s previous record was at 86 mph, making the Taycan not only the new record holder but set the bar high enough to likely hold it for a while. 

The astonishing feats of the EV are only just beginning. This kind of acceleration is something that we just haven’t seen in production cars. The potential is immense, and we are likely to see a great deal more mind-blowing records and stats as the EVs evolve and improve.