Porsche Manthey Kit Drops Taycan Turbo GT To 6:55.553 At Nürburgring, Outruns Yangwang U9 Xtreme

Porsche development driver Lars Kern set a new Nürburgring-Nordschleife lap record on May 7, 2026, posting 6:55.553 minutes around the 12.94-mile (20.832 km) circuit in a Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package fitted with the new Manthey Kit. A notary on site certified the time. The lap landed more than nine seconds faster than the previous Electric Executive Cars record, set by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra production model at 7:04.957, and 12 seconds quicker than Kern’s own October 2023 benchmark in the standard Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package.

The Manthey Kit is the first such upgrade Porsche has engineered for an electric model and the first to be sold directly from the factory rather than as a third-party retrofit. It goes on sale in June 2026 for every Taycan Turbo GT equipped with the Weissach Package. Pricing has not been disclosed.

I have been tracking this Nürburgring EV record swap-out since covering the original 2023 Taycan Turbo GT Weissach run, and Kern’s 6:55.553 is the moment a four-door Porsche sedan walked past every Chinese rival on absolute lap time.

The Manthey Kit Rebuilds The Taycan Turbo GT For The Track

The Manthey Kit modifies aerodynamics, powertrain electronics, suspension calibration, brake hardware, wheels, and tires on the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package. Porsche developed the package jointly with Manthey, the Meuspath-based motorsport specialist that has built previous track kits for the 911 GT2 RS and 911 GT3 RS.

The new braking system uses 440 mm front discs (up from 420 mm on the standard car) and 410 mm rear discs paired with track-spec pads. The 21-inch forged aluminum wheels are dimensionally larger than stock yet sit roughly six pounds lighter at the corners once you add the titanium wheel bolts. Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires fit as standard, with road-legal track rubber available as an option that runs four centimeters wider at the front and three centimeters wider at the rear. Porsche Active Ride has been re-tuned for the new wheel-tire-aero package, along with revised rear-axle steering and all-wheel-drive calibration.

Aerodynamic Downforce Triples While The Powertrain Gains 26 HP

Total downforce more than triples versus the standard car: 209 to 683 pounds at 124 mph. At the new 192 mph top speed (up from 189 mph), total downforce reaches 1,631 pounds. Maximum system output rises 20 kW (26 hp) to 600 kW (804 hp), and Launch Control torque gains 22 ft-lbs to 936 ft-lbs.

The aero kit adds a new rear wing with enlarged end plates, an optimized front diffuser, an extended-fin rear diffuser, larger underbody air deflectors, and carbon aerodiscs on the rear wheels. Both the rear wing and front diffuser are adjustable, letting drivers dial downforce up or down for a given circuit. On the powertrain side, Porsche raised the maximum discharge current from 1,100 to 1,300 amps via revised battery and pulse-inverter calibration. Attack Mode now delivers an additional 130 kW (174 hp) for ten seconds, lifting peak short-burst output to 730 kW (978 hp). Launch Control output stays at 760 kW (1,019 hp), unchanged from the standard Turbo GT.

Kern Carried 8.7 MPH More Speed Through The Lauda-Lefthander

Kern attributed the 12-second improvement over his 2023 record to better aerodynamics, more capable tires, and a higher overboost ceiling. His example: in the Lauda-Lefthander section just before Bergwerk, the Manthey-equipped car carried 8.7 mph more speed than the standard Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package.

“The Manthey Kit turns the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package into the ultimate track tool. On the Nordschleife, you can feel the stability and confidence the car offers in fast sections and when braking,” Kern said in the announcement. Christian Müller, technical project manager for Taycan special vehicles at Porsche, framed the kit more bluntly: “We are breaking new ground in three ways with this Manthey Kit: It is the first kit of its kind for an electric Porsche; the most comprehensive update to date – including modifications to the drive system – and for the first time, it is also available directly from the factory.”

The Record Lands In A Contested Production-Car Category

Porsche broke the Nürburgring’s Electric Executive Cars class record, previously held by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra production model at 7:04.957. The 6:55.553 lap is also faster in absolute terms than BYD’s 3,000-horsepower Yangwang U9 Xtreme, which posted 6:59.157 in August 2025 in the Electric Super Sports Cars class.

The categories themselves are part of the story. Yangwang’s record sits in a separate class but loses outright to the Porsche by 3.6 seconds. Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra prototype lap of 6:48.874 is below all of these, but Xiaomi never claimed it as a production-car run. Each manufacturer defines “production” to suit its own claim. Yangwang built only 30 units of the U9 Xtreme. Porsche will sell the Manthey Kit as a factory option to a much larger Taycan Turbo GT Weissach customer base.

Porsche’s Track Win Lands With The Taycan In Sales Decline

The lap record is a rare highlight for an electric model line that has otherwise contracted sharply. Porsche delivered 16,339 Taycans globally in 2025, down from a 41,296-unit peak in 2021. The company booked €4.7 billion in writedowns last year tied to its scaled-back EV strategy, posting a 98% drop in operating profit to €90 million after its first quarterly loss as a public company in Q3 2025. New CEO Michael Leiters has officially backed off the 80% EV-by-2030 sales target and reinstated combustion options across model lines previously planned as electric-only. While engineers in Weissach were lapping the Nordschleife at 6:55.553, executives in Stuttgart were arguing about whether the model line that just broke the record should keep its own nameplate.

EVXL’s Take

I have driven a Taycan around lower-stakes circuits and watched every iteration of the Nürburgring EV ladder go up over the last three years. So I want to be clear about what just happened. A four-door electric sedan that any Porsche owner can buy and equip from the factory just lapped the Green Hell at 6:55.553. That is faster, in absolute terms, than a 3,000-hp Chinese hypercar limited to 30 units. The Porsche is not in the same Nürburgring category, and the press release doesn’t claim it is. But the absolute time is what enthusiasts will remember.

Here is the awkward part. The Taycan is dying as a volume business. Sales are down 60% from the 2021 peak, and Porsche has reportedly considered killing the nameplate. This Manthey Kit lands as an engineering trophy from a model line the company appears to be quietly winding down, not a sales accelerant.

My prediction: by the end of 2026, BYD’s Yangwang or Xiaomi will respond with a sub-6:55 production-class Nordschleife lap. The arms race is not slowing, and Chinese performance teams have proven they can iterate faster than European OEMs at this end of the market. Porsche owns the line for now. It will not own it through next summer.

Source: New Nordschleife record for production electric vehicles: Taycan leads the way again, Porsche Newsroom USA.

EVXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.