Nürburgring: 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo Unofficially Takes Crown as Fastest Sedan

NÜRBURG, Germany — The new 2010 Porsche Panamera Turbo recently lapped the north loop of the Nürburgring in 7 minutes and 56 seconds, beating the Cadillac CTS-V by 3 seconds and taking the crown for the fastest lap time in a production sedan.

German magazine Sportauto reports the news, which Porsche has yet to confirm. The hot lap was made by Walter Röhrl in a Panamera Turbo loaded with the optional Sport Chrono Package.

The vehicle is powered by a 4.8-liter turbocharged V8 that makes 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, helping it sprint to 60 mph in 4 seconds and top out at 188 mph — not bad for a sedan that weighs in at 4,344 pounds. The Panamera Turbo starts at $132,600 (as opposed to the $58,575 price of the CTS-V) and will officially debut in North America next month at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

This news comes after the video showing the Nissan GT-R one-upping its personal best Nordschleife lap with a time of 7 minutes, 26 seconds — still a few tenths shy of the Corvette ZR1's run on the Ring.

Inside Line says: The CTS-V had a good run as fastest sedan to lap the Nürburgring, considering it made the lap all the way back in May 2008. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent