Video: New Cayenne Turbo breaks Nüburgring lap record

An updated Porsche Cayenne has reset the bar at the Nürburgring Nordschleife by putting in a new lap record, officially becoming the fastest SUV around the 20.832-kilometre German circuit.

Though Porsche hasn't yet confirmed the specs of the new Cayenne Turbo Coupe performance model, its time of 7:38.925 is four seconds quicker than the existing record for SUV, off-road, van or pick-up vehicles – set by the Audi RS Q8 at the end of 2019.

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Test driver Lars Kern said the Cayenne felt deceptively stable for an SUV, having set a time faster than a 997-generation 911 GT3 RS and on par with the current BMW M5.

"Over the first few metres of the Nordschleife in this Cayenne, you're tempted to turn around to make sure that you're really sitting in a spacious SUV," said Kern.

"It changed direction at lightning speed in the fast curves such as between Hohe Acht and Eiskurve, with no wobble and no tendency to understeer.

"Even in this technical stretch, the Cayenne is a real driver's car that is easy to control."

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Porsche says the Cayenne was fitted with a roll-cage and racing seat for Kern's protection within the two-tonne plus SUV, shod with 22-inch Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres which will be fitted to the production model.

The current Cayenne Turbo Coupe produces 403kW of power and 768Nm of torque, helping to propel it from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds, a time within two-tenths of the new 992-generation 911 GT3.