The Porsche Taycan is no stranger to breaking records. Late in 2020, the Taycan sedan found its way into the Guinness World Records book for completing the longest drift in an electric vehicle. Just over a year ago, a Taycan Turbo S once again set a record, this time for the fastest indoor speed. After the Taycan arrived, the Taycan Cross Turismo was launched with its distinctive wagon body style. It has now accomplished its own Guinness World Record for the greatest altitude change ever achieved with an EV. Think of it as the automotive equivalent of climbing Everest but without the frostbite and two months of arduous physical climbing.
The feat was accomplished by J.F. Musial and his team, better known for creating automotive films and TV shows. Motivated by little more than sheer curiosity, the team covered a vertical distance of three miles without ever leaving the ground in a Taycan Cross Turismo. The distance covered along the ground was 1,413 miles and this took 33 hours and 48 minutes to complete. The team stopped only to recharge the Taycan and likely to visit the restroom. Astonishingly, the oxygen available at the start of the trip fell by around 40% by the time they reached the highest point. The lowest point in America is 282 feet below sea level and is found at Badwater Basin in Death Valley.
However, the team went even lower - yes, underground - at Eagle Mine in Michigan, a high-grade nickel and copper mine. Usually, only specialist mining vehicles are driven to these depths, but the Taycan Cross Turismo's all-wheel-drive system and raised ride height came in handy to make it possible for the car to be driven to a depth of 1,774 feet below sea level. Almost 34 hours later, the team had ascended to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, well known as the home of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.
The journey took the team across six states and wildly fluctuating weather conditions, from sun to snow and ice. Only one member of the team, J.F. Musial, completed the entire trip either as a passenger or a driver. "It was among the hardest things I've ever done, but I guess that's why it's a record!" he said.
He said that an incoming snowstorm nearly derailed the record attempt, but a 45-minute window allowed the team to get to the summit. It helped that Dai Yoshihara, class winner at the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, was behind the wheel for the final leg of the drive.