[Auto]Porsche Taycan breaks new records

[SougarLord]

 

Brands Hatch is no stranger to Porsche's historic feats in drag racing. In April 1970, a 917 in the hands of Pedro Rodríguez and Leo Kinnunen won the 1,000-kilometer race in the rain by an incredible five-lap difference. And in July 1984, Porsche took the top six in the same test, with Jan Lammers and Jonathan Palmer winning the 956.

 

In December, two Taycan recorded an impressive 13 records after covering a distance of 1,000 kilometers on the famous British circuit. Motorsport UK certified each of those records. They faced this marathon effort a Taycan 4S and a Turbo S, both of series. At the wheel, drivers like Le Mans legend Richard Attwood, former Formula 1 and Porsche driver Jonathan Palmer, 2020 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Harry King and 2020 Porsche Sprint Challenge GB champion from the Cayman Islands , James Dorlin.

 

The test started at 7:00 AM and ended at 8:00 PM, which means they spent many hours shooting at Brands Hatch in complete darkness. As in the 1970 race, intermittent rain and heavy squalls kept the track surface always wet, but the all-star team of experienced drivers, who completed two or three runs of about 90 minutes, proved to be up to the task. challenge height.

 

Records began to fall rapidly. In the category of "electric cars over 1,000 kilograms", the Taycan 4S set the records for the time taken from standstill to cover 50 kilometers, 50 miles, 100 km, 500 km, 500 miles and 1,000 km, in addition of the record of distance traveled in one hour, also with a standstill start: 98,192 km.

 

The Taycan 4S on the Brands Hatch circuit

At the same time and in the same category, the Turbo S set the records for the time taken to travel 200 kilometers, 100 miles and 200 miles from a standstill, in addition to the records for the distance traveled in three hours (252,356 km), six hours (450,065 km) and 12 hours (915,762 km), always starting at a standstill.

 

Some 50 years after taking the podium in the Brands Hatch 1,000 Kilometers in the 917, Attwood returned to the track to join the driver line-up in a Taycan 4S decorated in homage to the Porsche Salzburg team. And, 36 years after his famous victory, Palmer drove a Taycan Turbo S with colors reminiscent of his own 1984 car.

 

The Taycan Turbo S at the Brands Hatch circuit

The lack of grip and the need to conserve load required the drivers to corner as quickly as possible. In this way, the loss of energy that occurs when braking and accelerating again was reduced. Attwood and Palmer, accustomed to this type of energy management from their endurance racing experience, were able to pass it on to the next generation, King and Dorlin. In the final laps, both cars achieved an energy saving of around 5 percent per lap, thanks to fine-tuning of driving technique.

 

The event put the Taycan's qualities to the test in a particularly difficult way. Also due to the strict regulations that were applied to guarantee compliance with social distancing. However, the Taycan's 800-volt architecture allows for consistent high performance, reduces weight, and reduces charge time. A maximum charging power of 270 kWh also enables the 93.4 kWh Performance Battery Plus to go from 5 to 80 percent capacity in just 22.5 minutes under ideal conditions - crucial for this record attempt.

 

The Taycan's sophisticated thermal management proved to be another important asset when it came to recharging. The intelligent and highly efficient system used to cool and heat the high-voltage components prevents potential power losses due to excess heat, as well as optimizing the battery before the charging process. Despite an ambient temperature of just eight degrees at Brands Hatch and the heat generated by constant high-speed driving, the battery temperature was always within the proper range.

 

Over the course of the 1,000 kilometers, the Taycan 4S spent a total of three hours and three seconds entering or exiting the cargo area and charging, with a total of six stops. On average, each stop lasted about 30 minutes and both cars were charged from 5 percent to 85 percent each time.