Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Porsche is known for building cars that really are extremely good right out of the box. Yes, they tend to be more expensive than the other German luxury car brands, particularly once the option list comes out. But it doesn’t take very long behind the wheel before the driving experience reveals why they’re so good. And that’s just the regular models; the stuff that comes out of the motorsport department in Weissach—like the sublime 911 GT3—is even more focused.
But for some drivers, those who choose to spend their spare time enjoying track days at places like the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany’s Eifel Mountains, even cars like the razor-sharp GT3 RS make too many compromises for the road. For those people, there is Manthey Racing.
Based at the industrial estate alongside the ‘Ring, Manthey is a highly successful racing team—majority-owned by Porsche since 2013—that applies its years of experience making Porsches go even faster around the 12.9-mile (20.8 km) circuit known as the Green Hell to create upgrade kits that will turn the dials all the way up to 11.
Manthey’s newest upgrade kit is not for the 911 or 718, but the electric Taycan. Specifically, the Manthey Kit is an upgrade to the Taycan Turbo GT variant that Porsche introduced in 2024. More specifically, it actually requires the Taycan Turbo GT to also have the factory-installed Weissach package: this saves weight with carbon-fiber trim, thinner glass, a lighter sound system, and even loses the second charge port and the rear speakers to cut kilos. So equipped, the 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) time falls from 2.2 seconds to 2.1 seconds.
But a more impressive statistic is how little time it took Porsche factory driver Lars Kern to lap the Nordschleife—in 2024 he completed a lap in 7 minutes, 7.5 seconds.
So the 12 seconds he shaved off that time with the Manthey Kit, to set a time of 6:55.553, should underscore just how much faster the car can now go. There’s more aerodynamic downforce courtesy of wild new body extensions, with louvres on the front wheel arches (presumably to let air escape the wheel well), a larger rear wing, new underbody diffusers, and aerodisc rear wheels. And the car’s downforce levels are tunable, so you can optimize it for whichever track you happen to be blistering this week.
At 124 mph (200 km/h), the standard Turbo GT with Weissach package generates 209 lbs (95 kg) of downforce. The Manthey Kit increases this to 638 lbs (290 kg). At top speed—now 192 mph (309 km/h)—the car creates 1,631 lbs (740 kg) of downforce to push it onto the road surface.
It’s fitted with bigger friction brakes with high-performance pads, and the driving dynamics have been honed by a new setup that makes use of the active ride suspension and rear axle steering.
In addition to the bodywork there’s an optimized powertrain with more power. Porsche The various gates at Manthey’s Nurburgring HQ are named after different race tracks, which is why that says Spa. Jonathan Gitlin The various gates at Manthey’s Nurburgring HQ are named after different race tracks, which is why that says Spa. Jonathan Gitlin The BYD Yangwang U9, seen at the ‘Ring last summer. That’s Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi fresh from a passenger lap, a few months before the car appeared in Gran Turismo 7. (I hope the real thing drives better than the car in the game…) The BYD Yangwang U9, seen at the ‘Ring last summer. That’s Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi fresh from a passenger lap, a few months before the car appeared in Gran Turismo 7. (I hope the real thing drives better than the car in the game…) The various gates at Manthey’s Nurburgring HQ are named after different race tracks, which is why that says Spa. Jonathan Gitlin The BYD Yangwang U9, seen at the ‘Ring last summer. That’s Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi fresh from a passenger lap, a few months before the car appeared in Gran Turismo 7. (I hope the real thing drives better than the car in the game…) Manthey has also worked some magic on the powertrain. Maximum current has increased by 30 percent to 1,300 A, which increases nominal power by 26 hp (20 kW) to 804 hp (600 kW). Attack mode, imported from Formula E (where Porsche has had quite a lot of success in recent seasons) boosts this to 978 hp (730 kW) for 10 seconds. And while total power output in launch control is still the same 1,019 hp (760 kW) as the Weissach pack, peak torque in this mode increases by 22 lb-ft (30 Nm) to 936 lb-ft (1,270 Nm).
“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,” said Kern. “We were able to improve the previous best times thanks to significantly improved aerodynamics, further improved tires in terms of performance, and higher available overboost power.”
Importantly for Porsche, Kern’s lap time means that once again, the German OEM holds the electric vehicle Nordschleife lap record, wresting it back from BYD, which set a 6:59.157 lap time in late 2025 with the Yangwang U9, a car with more than three times as much power as this Taycan. But none of these road cars are anywhere close to the outright EV lap record, set by Romain Dumas in 2019 in Volkswagen’s ID.R, when he lapped the place in 6:05.336.
Pricing will be announced in time, but the base Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package starts at $243,700.
