Wait a minute, 102 mph? That’s it?

If that surprises you, try to understand that the previous record was just 86 mph. 

And this is the Indoor Land Speed Record, so space is very limited. 

Leh had to start his record attempt and finish it at a standstill, all within the space of a building. This includes no run up, no safety net and no doors open – AKA no escape route.

The record stood previously for seven years.

To even dream of beating the record, Leh needed a car that would be perfect for the feat. Enter the all-electric Porsche Taycan Turbo S. 

0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds. Four Wheel Drive. 750 horsepower. Carbon Ceramic brakes. If this car couldn’t do it, nothing would. 

The other question that came up was where? What indoor space could a car reach 102 miles an hour?

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans boasts the largest contiguous exhibit hall in the United States, and is a perfect playground to break the record. However, the polished concrete floor surface replicated ice when being driven over at high speeds.

“I didn’t really appreciate the scale of the record attempt until my first exploratory run. 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,” said Leh Keen after his record attempt. “I could feel the Taycan’s systems figuring it out, working so hard to keep me heading straight – it was such an impressive feat. To accelerate so hard on such an erratic surface was incredible. Not for a moment did I doubt I could do it.”

Leh’s strategy was to build up slowly, with low speed exploratory runs. 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. I was gentle on the brakes in the end – the Taycan’s brakes were more than up to the job. Of course, 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! I’m thankful for Porsche for trusting my abilities and for their preparations and encouragement – 102 mph inside a building. What was I thinking?” Leh had beaten the record.