There’s a new standard-bearer for luxury and speed.

Porsche announced that its test driver, Lars Kern, completed the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in a time of 7:24.17 minutes in a pre-series variant of the Panamera powered by an eight-cylinder hybrid powertrain.

This hybrid version of the car hasn’t been named yet, but it will sit at the top of the performance line of the Panamera four-door saloons.

The new time beats Kern’s previous Panamera lap record of 7:29.81 by more than five seconds, which he set in a previous generation Panamera Turbo S.

“On the Nordschleife, the transverse dynamic capabilities of a car are particularly important,” Kern said in a news release. “The new Panamera has made significant gains in this area. In technically demanding corner sequences in particular, such as between the ‘Hohe Acht’ and ‘Brünnchen’ sections of the track section, it responds with noticeably greater agility.”

The car features many improvements over the previous generation to help at achieve better lap times, Porsche said.

“The powertrain, the aerodynamics, the chassis, the new ultra-high-performance tires from Michelin – many aspects have contributed to this best time,” Kern said. “The new Porsche Active Ride chassis has made a particularly big contribution. The car stays parallel to the road at all times. Its cornering and body stability are on a whole new level. As a driver, this gives me a good feeling and further underlines that our development doesn’t just offer maximum day-to-day driving comfort, but also makes a real difference on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. No other Porsche offers such a wide spectrum between comfort and sportiness. The new Panamera combines the positive properties of an exclusive touring saloon with the handling of a sports car.”

The Panamera driven by Kerns was fitted with a racing seat and a mandatory safety cage. The car rode on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires with dimensions of 275/35 ZR 21 at the front and 325/30 ZR 21 at the rear, and had an optional Carbon Aerokit.