While Porsche is no stranger to setting records around the Nurburgring, the brand's latest achievement is something we weren't expecting. 16-year-old kart driver, Chloe Chambers, has broken a Guinness World Record for the fastest slalom, from behind the wheel of a stock 2020 Porsche 718 Spyder. The Spyder is a remarkable vehicle, based on the 718 Boxster but powered by the mechanicals of a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. Its styling is also incredible, with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur able to make it even more spectacular.
The record attempt by 16-year-old Chambers resulted in a verified time of 47.45 seconds.
Porsche Cars North America teamed up with sixteen-year-old Chambers, a karting professional, to break the previous slalom world record of 48.114 seconds. The previous record was set by Chinese national Jia Qiang' in a Chevrolet Camaro back in June 2019. But on Friday, August 21, Chambers succeeded with her run of 47.45 seconds.
Chambers had to get used to the characteristics of the 718 Spyder in a short amount of time: "It looks easy, but it's really not - to weave between 50 cones as fast as possible, trying to beat a record time and knowing I couldn't touch a single one for the run to count - I definitely felt the pressure," Chambers said. "Everything came together on my final run; the car worked beautifully and I found the grip I needed. Thank you to my family and to Porsche for supporting and believing in me."
The beautiful thing is that Chambers set the record in a completely stock car. The 718 Spyder is powered by a mid-mounted 4.0-liter flat-six engine producing 414 hp and 309 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear via a six-speed manual gearbox with an auto blip function. Without turbos to interfere, throttle response in the Spyder is nearly instantaneous, and combined with track-bred Porsche Active Suspension Management with adaptive dampers, it's no wonder this Porsche broke the record. "We couldn't be more proud that Chloe set the record," said Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. "From the whole Porsche family we send our heartfelt congratulations" he concluded.