Porsche sets Nürburgring record
Bernhard laps ‘Green Hell’ circuit in under 5:20 in prototype race car
Timo Bernhard set a record for the fastest lap ever of the Nürburgring Nordschleife on June 29, completing the well known 20.8-kilometre circuit in just five minutes and 19.55 seconds in a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo race car.
The numbers work out to an average speed of 233.8 km/h, and saw Bernhard break the old record, set by Stefan Bellof 35 years ago, by almost a full minute.
Bellof also set the record in a Porsche race car, though on a slightly shorter version of the circuit, and during a competition, not with the course closed off like Bernhard.
“The [919] Evo was perfectly prepared and I have done my best on this lap. Thanks to the aerodynamic downforce, at sections I never imagined you can stay on full throttle,” explained the 37-year-old Bernhard, who has won the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race five times. “I’m pretty familiar with the Nordschleife. But today I got to learn it in a new way.”
The Evo is a modified, unrestricted version of the 919 Hybrid race car that’s taken home trophies at Le Mans and in FIA WEC racing. The 849-kilogram car generates 50 per cent more downforce than its WEC-spec variant, thanks to the addition of active aerodynamic pieces.
That improved downforce, plus the car’s light weight and 1,160-horsepower two-litre V4 hybrid drivetrain, saw it nab a top speed of 369.4 km/h during the record lap.