Porsche claims another obscure world speed record

ByLarry Edsall | February 11, 2021

Ready for the run: But have to start and then stop before hitting the wall | Porsche photos

Well, folks, Porsche has done it again, set a Guinness World Record in a category no one knew about, nor seemingly had an interest in.

This time it was for an indoor land speed record, which Porsche says was set by Leh Keen in an electric-powered Taycan Turbo S, which reached 102.6 mph recently inside the New Orleans Convention Center.

Porsche said the former indoor speed record was 86 mph.

On the run

This latest stunt follows Porsche’s claim for two other does-anyone-really-care records for the fastest run through a slalom course and another for most time in a continual drift.

“Even when circumstances mean that being indoors is the safe and, at times, unexciting option, racer Leh Keen recently found a way to make being indoors considerably less boring,” Porsche reports.

“Leh had to start his record attempt and finish it at a standstill, all within the space of the building – there could be no run up, no safety net and no doors open and therefore no escape route. For good reasons, therefore, the record has stood for seven years.”

The New Orleans convention center claims the largest contiguous exhibit hall in the US, more than 1 million square feet, though its polished concrete floor offers the traction of an ice rink when driven on at speed. 

Keen and the car

“I didn’t really appreciate the scale of the record attempt until my first exploratory run,” Porsche quotes Keen. “The surface is so unpredictable, so slick, that you have to have complete trust in your car. It truly was like ice – and you’re accelerating flat out, facing a really hard wall at the end. Suddenly, even in a massive space like the one we had, it seems very small.”

Fortunately, the Taycan has all-wheel drive. 

“Leh’s strategy was to build up slowly, with low speed exploratory runs,” Porsche said. “The stock street tires were preheated as a precaution. And, when it came to the record attempt, one run was all it took. 

“I did take a moment on the starting line – knowing I was going to have to go as fast as I could, and stop again, all before reaching the wall I was facing. It got my attention. 

“I used the car’s launch control and the Taycan just hooked up – the sensation of speed indoors, even in such a big space, is enormous – that wall rushed up fast,” Leh said. 

“I didn’t look down at my speed so it came as a surprise and a relief that I’d beaten the record, and by such a margin. It was a rush!”

Courtesy of Classiccars.com