Enough performance, in fact, to keep up with a BMW M2 around the Nurburgring… SEAT also holds the record for estate cars around the track, with the Leon Cupra ST 280. Surely they'll want to get under eight minutes, right? autoevolution® and the autoevolution® logo are registered trademarks. It's worth noting too just how little steering effort it needs and, while the tyres do squeal, the RS seems to stave off understeer pretty well. The fastest Corvette and the fastest car produced by General Motors to be tested around the Nürburgring track seems to be the 2017 Corvette C7 Z06, again from the high-performance class. The latest Civic Type R – an amazing achievement, especially when you consider it doesn’t have a great deal of extra power over its predecessor. One thing that is for sure is that the top 5 fastest Nürburgring lap record holders are American vehicles from the General Motors and Chrysler. We thought the FK8 Type R was fast (and it is), but to launch the new range-topping Megane RS Trophy R, Renault smashed its time by almost four seconds. Two Vipers in a row, both be driven by Horst von Saurma with close lap times but taking place nearly ten years apart from each other. The first car on this list to edge under the magical eight-minute mark, the Leon Cupra is still one of our favourite hot hatches, thanks to a good-value pricetag, comfortable interior and plenty of performance. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Assembled in Lordstown, Ohio, the Cobalt SS has made it to our list with a lap of 8:22.85. The Ford Focus and Fiesta are known for their amazing grip in these situations, so the Focus RS Mk2 did a lap of 8:26 back in 2009. Or should that be ‘taking away’ from the Trophy? Just remember to take them with a pinch of salt – it’s a very unscientific way of separating cars! The company wanted to prove that this is a practical pony/muscle car they've made, and they ended up being surprised that the model did a fast lap of 8:20. 2016 Ford Focus RS finished a lap of Nürburgring Nordschleife in 8 minutes and 6 seconds. The GT Performance Package, however, is the model that comes with a 5.0 L V8 engine instead of the original 2.3 L turbocharged l4. Let's be clear from the off: 8min 6secs is still a very, very fast time for a Ford Focus to lap the Nurburgring in. Reference: Sport Auto - 1/2017 - … and posted an at-the-time staggering performance, getting round the Nurburgring in just under 8min, 17sec. There is not much going on in the model's engine since the largest volume offered is a 2.3 L turbocharged I4 able to make 350 hp, but it doesn't seem to affect the lap time. Topspeed suggest about 380 hp. Therefore, not all of the lap times are comparable. Comparable lap times: Lamborghini Murcielago (7:47), Porsche 911 GT3 RS (7:47), The Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S is the most powerful car ever to wear the GTI badge, and is set up for track supremacy – ditching the rear seats just like the Megane Trophy-R. It’s still fairly usable every day, though (not that it matters to you or me – only 150 units came to the UK, and they sold immediately). © 2008-2020 SoftNews Net SRL.All rights reserved. LT1 introduced in 2017 with a 6.2 L V8 capable of producing 455 hp of power output. Comparable lap times: 997 Porsche 911 Turbo (7:39), 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 7:41.27. The Ford Focus and Fiesta are known for their amazing grip in these situations, so the Focus RS Mk2 did a lap of 8:26 back in 2009. Driver Jim Mero managed to do a lap of 7:22.68 in the manual C6 back in June 2011 before the model's launch in order to conduct a test for General Motors. Just calculate with 300hp for the Focus RS. With a mighty 305bhp from its turbocharged five-cylinder engine, the RS is also anything but discreet. The Nürburgring motorsports complex was founded nearly 90 years ago, located in West Germany. Comparable lap times: Porsche Cayman S (8:16), Honda NSX (8:16.2). 205mph Brabus Rocket 900 revealed – a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S turned to 888bhp, KTM X-Bow GTX racer revealed with 532bhp five-cylinder engine. FORD TRANSIT/TOURNEO CONNECT WAGON (5-SEATS). The latest Ford Focus RS knocks a not-inconsiderable twenty seconds off the time of the Mk2 model. It made do without rear seats, air-conditioning or a stereo, and the front seats were fixed-back buckets with six-point racing harnesses. The masses of vents won’t have aided its time at all – but it’s still impressive. General Motors decided to test their SS Turbocharged mod of the Cobalt in 2007. This is one of the American cars that did a record driven by Horst von Saurma, the man who is known to be the former chief editor of the German auto magazine called Sport Auto and one of the most skilled drivers in the Nürburgring tracks. Copyright © Dennis Publishing Limited 2020. The next lap time done by American cars under eight minutes does not belong to a simply sports car, but surprisingly enough, the GM's Cadillac CST-V, which is classified as a luxury sports sedan car, which did a lap of 7:59 in the ring, and quite frankly surprised everyone. Here’s what caught evo’s fancy this week, Subscribe today to our exclusive new offer and SAVE 39% on the shop price. That weight loss allowed it to make the most of its 227bhp. This Superyacht is Designed for an Oil-Sheikh - Arabian Luxury and a Mosque. The times in question were recorded by a series of different publications and manufacturers, driven by different drivers, and with cars in different states of road-readiness…, Comparable lap times: Nissan 350Z (8:26), Audi S5 (8:26). In 2011 GM conducted a test in which Aaron Link did a lap of 7:41.27 in the track with the Camaro ZL1. 8:06.56 Honda NSX (NA1) Fredrik Sørlie September 2016 Kumho HU36, D2 coilovers: 8:07 Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack: Horst von Saurma: 2015 Auto Zeitung: 8:07 BMW Z8 E52 Auto Bild (06/2001) … It’s not just beaten the Golf Clubsport S, either – it’s smashed it, with almost four-seconds between the two. The 2.0-litre turbocharged engine produced 271bhp, which meant it wasn’t the most powerful hot hatch of its generation – but its Nurburgring time cements it as one of the fastest nonetheless. The 2012 Chevy Corvette C6 ZR1 did a lap of 7:19.63 in Nürburgring, being driven by Jim Mero, a professional Corvette driver. You again? I think everybody knows that the RS engine underperforms or even gets broken. There are different modifications of the 2015 Mustang that are offered by the company. Unlike its more hardcore Trophy-R brother it actually came with some concessions to comfort – like rear seats! > Renault Sport reclaims front-wheel-drive Nürburgring record with new Renault Mégane RS Trophy-R. Part of the appeal of a hot hatch is that they are generally more practical, cheaper to run and (sometimes) more discreet than their sports car counterparts. Comparable lap times: Nissan 350Z (8:26), Audi S5 (8:26) 12. Those can’t have been a comfortable eight minutes though – the R26.R was the most extreme version of the Mk2 Megane, and came without the niceties of rear seats, a radio, or even a passenger airbag. Let's be clear from the off: 8min 6secs is still a very, very fast time for a Ford Focus to lap the Nurburgring in. You’d almost expect it from one of the most powerful hot hatchbacks on the market, though, especially as it’s equipped with four-wheel drive to make the most of its 345bhp. Here are the fastest lap times set by American cars. Reference:   If you want to outperform a Golf R or Civic R from 100-200km/h dont go for the Focus RS! The Brabus Rocket is back for 2020, and this time it takes the form of a Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S with extras, Tall ride height and wheelarch extensions suggest a surprise 911 derivative could be coming, Following a glimpse of the GT2 derivative, KTM has now uncovered its X-Bow GTX racer in full, We’ve perused the used car pages so you don’t have to. Judging cars by their Nurburgring lap time is a famously flawed process. Your thoughts and comments are of course always welcome! Or an RS500... © 2020 Pistonheads Holdco Limited, All Rights Reserved, Pistonheads Holdco Limited, c/o Legalinx Limited, Tallis House, 2 Tallis Street, Temple, London, EC4Y 0AB, United Kingdom. Next on the performance tree from the R26.R was the RS Trophy – based on the bigger, softer Mk3 Megane. From ST to RS, next up is the Mk2 Ford Focus RS – a giant-killer at the time, evidenced by its ability to match both the Audi S5 and the Nissan 350Z around the ‘ring. As it turns out, not all the fruits of the 2016 Nurburgring testing season had been plucked. This model did a lap of 7:37.4 in October 2013. The latest model is more powerful, but hasn’t yet been taken around the ‘Ring. Now the Focus RS is fast enough for a 1590 kg car, Also the RS usually shows 286-290 bhp on wheels during run in or first 10000 kms, After that it will open up and post that dynos show 305-310 bhp on wheels, typically AWD cars have 13-15% loss in dyno, adding that its exactly 350 HP or 345 bhp. The debate will rage on over whether the fastest hatchbacks can really compete with a sports coupe for driver involvement but for sheer road and track pace, many of them are certainly formidable. Comparable lap times: Ford Mustang GT Performance Pack (8:07), Subaru WRX STi Spec-C (8:06). Full lap A full lap of the Nordschleife, bypassing the modern GP track, is 20.832 km (12.944 mi) long.. Ford Focus RS at the 'ring: Time For Coffee. A few caveats to start: this is a production Focus RS tested by sportauto, rather than whatever cars the manufacturers use for their 'official' times. Related: Ranking Dodge Viper Models From Best To Worst. This doesn't exclude American factories as they have been using this track from the early days to test drive their newest models in. It seems like the older lap with the 1997 Viper GTS was 3 seconds faster than the new one with the SRT-10 as it was over by 8:10. From what appears in the Corvette world, the Z06 is a code given to the high-performance models, and the C5 Z06 is included in that regulation. 2016 Ford Focus RS Ford Hot Hatch Nurburgring In this test it managed an impressive 8:06.3, just edging out its Mustang GT sibling – despite only being equipped with half the cylinders. All rights reserved.evo™ is a registered trade mark. Oliver Gavin, one of the members of the official Corvette racing team, did a lap of 7:29.9 in the upcoming 2020 C8 model. Automobile factories also use this track for analysis on their upcoming models.