A Porsche 911 Turbo S piloted by David Donner ascended the legendary Pikes Peak track in 9 minutes 53.5 seconds, dethroning Bentley.
According to Motor1, the time was recorded outside of an official racing event, but the regulations still allow considering it as legitimate. The new time is 25.9 seconds faster than the three-year-old best result shown by a Bentley Continental GT.
At first, Donner and the 000 Porsche team had intended to set the record during the official race of the season – the 100th one, no less – but wet weather prevented it from happening. The driver managed to get to the finish line in 10:34 (see video), but the Bentley was still unbeaten with 10:18.4.
The team made its second attempt now using the same car in better weather. As a result, their Porsche 911 Turbo S managed to ascend in 9:53.5, an absolute record among ICE cars.
Per the team, the supercar was largely stock except for minor safety-related modifications such as a roll cage, a bucket seat and a fire extinguisher. The ECU was also remapped to enable optimal engine performance at higher elevations where oxygen is scarce.