Hang on Tesla, Porsche may have a quicker Taycan to run at Nurburgring

It's been discovered that Porsche ran a Taycan Turbo, not the more powerful Turbo S model at the German racetrack.

By Sean Szymkowski, Roadshow

The Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S are becoming quite the rivals -- and the first Taycans haven't even made their way to owners yet. Nevertheless, the battle of Silicon Valley and Stuttgart is well underway, with competing Nurburgring Nordschleife lap times as the barometer.

In one corner, we have the Taycan with its official lap of 7 minutes, 42 seconds. In the other corner, the Model S "Plaid" prototype has reportedly lapped the 'Ring in just 7:23 during an industry pool session. Ah, but wait just one second. A new report from Car and Driver on Tuesday puts Porsche on the record saying it did not run its most powerful Taycan model.

That's right, the German sports car and luxury marque used a Taycan Turbo for its run around the Nordschleife. As a refresher, the Taycan Turbo boasts 670 horsepower and 626 pound-feet of torque. Above it sits the Taycan Turbo S, which houses 750 hp and 774 lb-ft. Theoretically, all signs point to the Turbo S as capable of clocking an even quicker time at the legendary German racetrack.

There are a few wild cards in the mix as to why Porsche didn't put its most powerful electric car on the track to start. Car and Driver theorizes the company likely took an educated guess and expected Tesla to try and outgun it. Thus, it has more power waiting. On the other hand, both Taycan variants suppress power down to 616 hp to keep the powertrain's heat at bay. In the end, the Taycan Turbo minus the S may have weighed less and still produced the same amount of power. There's no way of knowing if Porsche will unleash the full 750 hp for more than 2.5 seconds at a time -- the time figure Porsche quoted for its "overboost" function.

Porsche didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's also worth noting the Model S running at the 'Ring right now is reportedly as far as can be from the car buyers can purchase. Stickier tires, a gutted interior and a gurney flap are not on the options list for Model S buyers. The electric car also supposedly includes a three-motor powertrain for added gusto.

Whatever the case, don't expect this newborn rivalry to die down any time soon.

Porsche Taycan is ready to prove a point.