Top 5 Nürburgring Monsters
The new mecca of performance benchmarking, the Nürburgring in its “Supertest” configuration (20,600m) has become, and surely will remain, the giant playground of sports car manufacturers as they continue pushing their machines further below the sub 7-minute barrier. These are 5 scary fast monsters that have proved their mettle at the track that Sir Jackie Stewart previously referred to as “The Green Hell.”
5. Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package
Just 50 examples of the already limited 500-unit production run of the Lexus LFA are equipped with the Nürburgring package. With a 10-hp bump in power to 561-hp and additional downforce provided by a larger carbon fiber front splitter and a taller, fixed rear wing, the special edition LFA made good on its namesake back in 2011, recording a 7:14 lap on Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires, the standard equipment tire from the factory on all LFA Nürburgring Package models.
4. 2015 Lamborghini Aventador SV
Lamborghini’s “Superveloce” tag isn’t applied to just any model; think back to legendary Miura SV and more recently the Diablo SV. It is certainly fitting in the case of the 2015 Aventador SV, which earlier this year broke the sub 7-minute mark at the Ring with a 6:59.73. With a 750-hp V12 and 110lbs less to carry than the standard Aventador LP-750-4, the Italians hold on to the 4th-fastest production car lap at the Ring, against some seriously overpowered opposition.
3. 2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO
Nissan allowed their in-house skunkworks division to have at the already super quick GT-R. The result? A 595-hp AWD beast with a retuned suspension, additional brake cooling, a strengthened chassis and a generous helping of carbon fiber parts, enabling “Godzilla” to record a 7:08 Nürburgring lap time. As with other Ring lap times, there is some controversy, however, as the GT-R NISMO that completed the timed lap was equipped with an optional “Track Package,” the individual parts of which were undisclosed by Nissan.
2. Porsche 918 Spyder
German sport auto magazine conducts an annual “Supertest,” anchored by a timed shootout at the Ring. During the 2013 “Supertest,” a 918 equipped with the optional “Weissach Package” completed a lap in 6:57, driven by Porsche factory racing driver Marc Lieb. The Weissach Package aims primarily at reducing weight and improving aerodynamics; magnesium wheels, ceramic wheels bearings and titanium bolts for the chassis drop curb weight from 3,715lbs. to 3,616lbs.
1. Radical SR8LM
The current boss of the Nordschleife (6 minutes, 48 seconds) looks anything but road legal, but somehow just manages to qualify as a production car (although not in every country). Radical’s most hardcore model set the outright lap record back in 2009—driven by Michael Vergers, who also held the previous lap record of 6:55 in a Radical SR8, dating back to 2005—and although McLaren have publicly stated their P1 has officially completed a 6:47, the single-seater monsters from England still remain official Kings of the Ring.
