It’s well established that President Biden is a car guy. If his 1967 C2 Corvette convertible isn’t proof, he’s been known to keep the Secret Service on their toes with the occasional burnout on their secure test track. Conan O’Brien is the same way, still hanging onto his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO after decades. On a recent episode of the retired TV host’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, the conversation turned to cars, and Biden had some automotive exploits to discuss that we haven’t previously heard about.
As it turns out, the 46th president is a fan of launch control. It sounds like he had never been in a car equipped with the feature until relatively recently when he drove an unspecified Porsche. The circumstances of the Commander-In-Chief’s drive are unclear, but speaking to O’Brien, he says “You know the new ones? They have a launch switch. I got a Porsche up to 171 miles an hour,” going on to explain how the feature works. “It is incredible.”
President Biden provided no other details besides that brief statement, but it’s likely that the stint in the sports car from Stuttgart occurred before he was president. Porsches have been equipped with launch control for some time, and whenever the most powerful man on earth drives a car, we tend to hear about it and see video.
Biden has driven a smattering of new electric vehicles in front of the press, including the Hummer EV, F-150 Lightning, and Cadillac Lyriq. He was also filmed revving a Z06 Corvette at the Detroit Auto Show last year. All of this happened off of public roads, of course. The last time we’re aware of him driving his C2 was at the aforementioned Secret Service test facility.
Although we don’t know which Porsche he took up to 171, almost all the vehicles the company offers, at least the sports cars, are capable of those speeds. The new 911 S/T, for instance, will hit 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds and tops out at 186 miles per hour.
