The Porsche Taycan breaks the ice and sets a new record by drifting in Lapland

Ice is a serious problem for drivers, but it is also an element that makes it possible to carry out very interesting tests to check the efficiency of production models. In Lapland there are several tracks where these ice tests are carried out, and at one of them, the Porsche Arctic Center in Levi, the Porsche Experience team is at work.

This team is responsible for putting the German brand’s models to the test and having them drive around a track where ice and snow are the stars alongside the vehicle. The most recent car to lap the circuit was the Porsche Taycan GTS. Test driver Jens Richter managed to break a new Guinness World Record, this time by performing continuous drifting on the ice-covered track.

It was not achieved on the first attempt: the first run had to be aborted due to the breaking of the ice layer after 11 kilometres had been covered. But on the second attempt, the Porsche Taycan GTS managed to beat the record, covering a distance of 17,503 metres while performing continuous drifting on a layer of ice on the track. This means it completed 132 laps of the circuit, a feat made all the more difficult by the challenge of driving an electric car on this type of surface.

The previous record stood at 14,809 metres, so it was comfortably surpassed, setting a new benchmark that will be very hard to beat. The track, built for the occasion, has a diameter of 59 metres. The Taycan GTS was fitted with Michelin tyres with one-millimetre studs on both axles.

To take the measurements, the Porsche Taycan GTS was equipped with a professional GPS, which not only records the distance covered but also measures steering inputs, acceleration, braking and G-forces. The chosen location is ideal for this test, since ice on the road is almost constant at this time of year and allows the continuous sliding that this model, one of the most powerful electric cars on the market, is capable of sustaining.

Other records broken by the Taycan

The Porsche Taycan has been the star of other world records, which have helped put the spotlight on this electric model. In 2023, the Porsche Taycan overcame an elevation gain of 5,573 metres, reaching the summit of Hongtu Daban in Tibet. The car that achieved this milestone was a Taycan Cross Turismo, which became the first electric car to make this change in altitude.

Two years earlier, in 2021, driver Leh Keen took the wheel of a Porsche Taycan and accelerated to 165.1 km/h inside an exhibition centre in New Orleans. With this, the world speed record for an enclosed building was broken. In 2020, Porsche Experience instructor Dennis Retera completed 210 laps drifting in a Taycan at the Porsche Porsche Experience Center (PEC) Hockenheim, taking 55 minutes and covering 42,171 metres.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackPorsche Taycan22 versions · from 106,252 €