The upcoming Porsche Taycan electric sedan has been filmed testing at the Nurburgring prior to its launch next year.

Created as a direct rival to the Tesla Model S, the Taycan promises excellent performance and class-leading range.

To say it’s unlikely more than a handful of future owners will ever take their cars to the track is an understatement. However, with Porsche being the undisputed king of the Nurburgring, it’s only fitting that the famous racetrack is acting as the perfect proving ground for the all-new saloon. Will it set an official lap time? Who knows – but it could probably secure an electric sedan record.

When the Taycan launches, it will feature an 800 volt electrical system combined with two electric motors to deliver more than 592 hp.

This will result in a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time of less than 3.5 seconds, while the sprint to 200 km/h (124 mph) will be dealt with in less than 12 seconds. Impressively, the sedan will have a range exceeding 500 km (310 miles) in the New European Driving Cycle.

Limited details about the Taycan’s battery pack have been confirmed, but Porsche says the lithium-ion unit is made up of approximately four hundred cells, each packing roughly 4 volts of power. With just 15 minutes of charging, the battery can be topped up to offer 400 km (248 miles) of range.

To complement the launch of the Taycan, Porsche is introducing an extensive network of high-speed charging stations. Through the Ionity joint venture formed with other automakers, it hopes to have 400 fast-charging stations operational in Europe by 2020.