Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Rolls Over Ten Times At The Nurburgring

Amazingly, the driver walked away without any serious injuries. We bet he had a headache afterwards though.

We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve seen overconfident, underskilled drivers learn the hard way that the Nurbugring takes no prisoners. This time, however, it was a professional racing driver who got caught out. Bridge to Gantry reports that American racing driver John Shoffner was competing in the sixth race of the VLN endurance championship at the Nurburgring when he lost control of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car just after the Flugplatz straight.

While overtaking slower traffic, Shoffner encounters some oversteer and clips the grass verge. This then sends the car into a harrowing high-speed rollover. The rollover is so dizzyingly fast the video looks like it has been sped up. It’s a violent, wince-worthy crash, as the car clips the fencing before ending up on its roof at the side of the track. Incredibly, the 911 GT3 Cup rolled over ten times in about five seconds. We feel dizzy just watching it.

Despite the severity of the crash, Shoffner miraculously walked away without any serious injuries. According to a statement by J2 racing, he stayed in hospital for a few days after being in intensive care but he wasn’t in any pain and is eager to get back behind the wheel. It’s a testament to modern safety standards in racing cars that drivers can survive serious crashes like this, let alone walk away uninjured. We bet he had a headache after that wild ride, though.

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Porsche Taycan Promises Charging Times Twice As Fast As Tesla

Ground won't be the only thing that Porsche's EV will cover quickly.

Porsche is no stranger to speed, producing as it has (and still does) some of the fastest cars ever to hit the road or track. And now it's after another crown in the realm of speed, but this time it's not for the pace with which its cars cover ground. This time it's for charging times.

Speaking with Fortune at the Rennsport Reunion last weekend, Porsche's US chief Klaus Zellmer said its forthcoming Taycan electric sports car will be able to quick-charge to 80 percent of its battery's capacity in just 15 minutes.

That's “almost the same time if you fill up your gas tank and have a cup of coffee,” said Zellmer. More to the point, though – and in true Porsche style – it's much faster than the competition. As Fortune points out, Teslas take nearly half an hour to achieve the same charge. And Jaguar's new I-Pace takes 45 minutes.

“It doesn’t make any sense to drive fast and then wait two hours to charge batteries,” added Porsche's sales and marketing chief Detlev von Platen. That's why it's pursuing quicker charging times.

The German automaker is no stranger to charging its vehicles' batteries, having already produced plug-in hybrids like the 918 Spyder and E-Hybrid versions of its Panamera and Cayenne models. But the Taycan will be its first completely electric vehicle.

Stemming from the Mission E project (pictured), the Porsche Taycan is slated to pack over 600 horsepower worth of electric power, sending it rocketing to 60 in under 3.5 seconds. It's anticipated to launch in 2020, after which we can expect additional battery-powered vehicles to come rolling out of Zuffenhausen in the coming years.

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