IT HASN’T BEEN officially confirmed yet, but reports out of Germany indicate that Porsche’s Panamera Turbo is the new four-door king of The ‘Ring.

Porsche legend Walter Röhrl reportedly piloted the Panamera to a lap time of 7 minutes and 56 seconds, eclipsing the current four-door champion, the Cadillac CTS-V, by around 3 seconds.

The Panamera in question reportedly featured Porsche’s Sports Chrono package and was fitted with the optional ceramic brake package, a huge advantage when tackling over 20 kilometres of the toughest bitumen around.

Ceramic brakes or not, Röhrl would have had his hands full with the big Panamera Turbo and its 373kW (500HP) /700Nm 4.8 litre twin-turbo V8.

Capable of just over 300km/h (186mph), the Panamera Turbo can sprint from 0-100km/h in around 4.0 seconds flat, making it a worthy challenger to the CTS-V’s “fastest lap” mantle at the Nurburgring.

Official confirmation and further details are expected in the coming days.