Fun while it lasted: Porsche Panamera Turbo reportedly tops Cadillac CTS-V's 'Ring record

2010 Porsche Panamera – Click above for high-res image gallery

It's been just over a year since Cadillac captured the title of fastest production four-door car when John Heinricy circulated the Nürburgring's north loop with a CTS-V in under eight minutes. Considering the pace of leap-frogging between the Nissan GT-R, Corvette ZR1 and Viper ACR it's a bit surprising that it took this long for someone to top the super-Caddy. What's not surprising is that it was a Porsche that finally outran the CTS-V.

Now that the four-door Porsche Panamera has been thrust upon the world, it was only a matter of time before one the test drivers from Weissach brought the crown back to the fatherland. The 500-horsepower Panamera Turbo lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 56 seconds, 3 seconds faster than the Cadillac.

When Heinricy set his 7:59 time last year, it was done in an automatic CTS-V in a single hot lap at the end of a test session. With any luck, we'll see Heinricy or perhaps one of the Corvette C6.R drivers like Johnny O'Connell head back to the Eiffel mountains for another go.

Cadillac and Gadling partner for "Perfect Road Trip" Contest

2010 Cadillac SRX – Click above for high-res image gallery

If we could take a trip anywhere in the Continental U.S., we'd have to make a b-line for the mountains of Nevada. Or, we could hit Yosemite for some incredible scenery and all the sightseeing we could handle. There's plenty to do and see in these United States, and Cadillac and our sibling travel site Gadling are ready to take you there.

Gadling and Cadillac are partnering up to send you and a friend on the road trip of your dreams, and Cadillac is providing a spanking new SRX crossover to hit the road running. To enter the contest, all you need to do is head over to the Gadling contest post, write up your own dream vacation in the comments section by July 22 at 5 pm ET, and wait. Gadling will pick the five best travel ideas, and then give its readers the opportunity to vote for the best one. The winner will receive the SRX for two days, a pair of plane tickets to the destination of your choice (within the continental U.S.) plus money for hotels, food and other expenses. So far there aren't many that have filled in a comment, so the chances of victory are pretty darn good, especially if you have a killer idea for a road trip. Sounds like a very fun weekend.