Fastest Nurburgring lap times 2026: quickest cars and lap records
Check out the top 10 fastest production cars around the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany
The Nurburgring Nordschleife racetrack in Germany is one of the most famous and challenging circuits anywhere in the world. That’s why almost every performance car manufacturer has tried to etch its name into the ‘Ring’s record books at one time or another.
Nicknamed the ‘Green Hell’, the ‘Ring is a 12.994-mile track and the fast lap time has become a valuable currency in the eyes of consumers and car brands alike. Here we explore the cars that have managed to cash in.
Why is the Nurburgring lap time so important?
The Nurburgring is nestled in the Eifel mountains and has almost 1,000 feet of elevation change as the track carves through a dense pine forest. The change in elevation, high-speed chicanes, twists and turns make it one of the most technically challenging race tracks in the world, meaning it’s a popular venue for performance car manufacturers and elite drivers looking to squeeze every last tenth of a second out of a flying lap.
As a result, we've seen various companies claim Nordschleife lap records for everything from SUVs to 'four-door cars', estates and electric cars.
The big one, of course, is the overall production car lap record. As things stand, the Mercedes-AMG One holds this record, having completed a lap of the ‘Ring in 6:29.090 back in 2024.
Whatever you think of this practice, the Nurburgring’s profile in the car world shows no sign of waning and we’ve got details of all the fastest cars of each type at the ’Ring below, followed by a round-up of the top-10 fastest production cars…
Overall Nurburgring lap record
- Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO, 5:19.55, 2018
In 2018, the Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO set the overall Nurburgring lap record with a time of 5:19.55 minutes.
Driven by Timo Bernhard, the Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO is a development of the Le Mans prototype the German marque raced competitively, and it hit a top speed of 229mph on its mind-blowing lap.
Front-wheel-drive Nurburgring lap record
- Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50, 7:44.535, 2026
The front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap time record is fiercely contested among manufacturers desperate for hot hatch bragging rights.
The current front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap record holder is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 which lapped the ‘Ring in 7:44.535, beating the previous lap record holder, the FL5 Honda Civic Type R, by 0.3 seconds.
The lap was performed in good weather conditions and the car was driven by racing- and Volkswagen test-driver Benjamin Leuchter.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 which set the front-wheel drive lap record was kept as close to production spec as possible. The car was fitted with the optionally available GTI Performance Package which features a chassis that’s lowered by an additional five millimetres, a lightweight R-Performance exhaust and Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres.
Four-door saloon Nurburgring lap record
- Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, 7:04.957, 2025
With SUVs stealing car sales from conventional family saloons, manufacturers are having to come up with exciting ways to attract buyers to more traditional saloon models. Which, among other things can include a fire-breathing, hell-raising performance version of the standard model.
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra became the fastest road legal four-door saloon at the Nurburgring in 2025, completing a lap of the Nordschleife in 7:04.957.
The previous record holder was the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 and held the record for around six years, but considering the SU7 Ultra is an electric car, we suspect the four-door saloon record might be broken again by another EV much more quickly.
All-electric Nurburgring lap record
- Volkswagen ID.R, 6:05.336, 2019
More manufacturers are readying electric cars, and what better way to showcase you're serious about EVs than sending a bespoke, all-electric track special around the Nurburgring as quickly as possible?
That's exactly what Volkswagen did, setting a new lap record for all-electric cars with a Nurburgring-spec version of the ID. R racecar it had used to set a new record on the Pikes Peak hillclimb.
The 617bhp all-wheel-drive machine lapped the 12.9-mile circuit in 6:05.34, not only smashing the previous record held by Chinese EV maker NIO, but setting the second fastest ever unrestricted lap around the track in the process.
Production electric car Nurburgring lap record
- Yangwang U9 Xtreme, 6:59.157, 2025
When it comes to production electric cars at the Nurburgring, you can safely expect this battle to hot-up.
The current production electric car Nurburgring lap record holder is the Yangwang U9 Xtreme which lapped the ‘Green Hell’ in 6:59.157 on 22 August 2025.
There has been some chop and change at the top of the leaderboard over the past few years, with Tesla claiming an unmodified Tesla Model S Plaid lapped the circuit in 7:25.23 in June 2023 but was beaten by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT a few months later in August 2023, completing a lap in 7:07:55.
Enter Chinese electronics giant-turned car maker, Xiaomi. The company sent its SU7 Ultra prototype around the Nurburgring in October 2024, setting a lap time of 6:48:87, which was good enough to knock the Porsche Taycan Turbo from the top spot.
It’s worth pointing out that the SU7 Ultra’s time mentioned above was recorded in a pre-production vehicle. When the SU7 Ultra returned to the Nurburgring in 2025, it could only manage a lap time of 7:04.957, which was still good enough to set the four-door saloon lap record.
Top 10 fastest Nurburgring lap times by production cars
The prominence of the front-wheel-drive lap record may have risen in recent times, but the real kings of the ‘Ring are the machines challenging for the overall production car mark. These days, it’s never long after the covers have been pulled back off a new hypercar or extreme track weapon that the question of Nurburgring potential is asked…
10. Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991.2) - 6:56.4s
- Lap completed: 2018
The Porsche GT3 RS has the same 4.0-litre flat-six as found in the regular 911 GT3 - revving to 9,000rpm and developing 513bhp. Use the Race Start function and the RS will shoot from 0-62mph in a lightning 3.2 seconds.
The Weissach Pack helps to reduce overall weight by 30kg (from a claimed 1,430kg), by including a carbon fibre roof, magnesium wheels and a titanium roll cage.
9. Porsche 911 GT3 (992) - 6:55.294s
- Lap completed: 2022
Porsche is famous for evolving the 911 with each iteration, and proof is no clearer than the lap time of the latest 911 GT3. Despite being a rung down on the performance ladder, it was faster around the tortuous track than the outgoing 991.2 GT3 RS. That's without any extra power, and just goes to show how much more downforce – and therefore grip – the 992 GT3 can generate.
8. Ford Mustang GTD - 6:52.072s
- Lap completed: 2025
Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, a Ford Mustang is officially faster than a Porsche 911 GT3 in its own back yard.
Granted, this Mustang is no ordinary muscle car. Under the carbon-fibre body, the Ford Mustang GTD has a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 engine with a 7,500rpm limit and 815bhp. It has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution and an aero package inspired by the Ford Mustang GT3 race car. So it’s unsurprising that it can handle corners pretty well.
Worryingly for the competition, Ford’s Mustang GTD only managed to complete three laps around the ‘Green Hell’ due to poor weather conditions, briefly becoming the fastest American production car ever to lap the Nurburgring and only the sixth ‘standard’ production car to lap under the seven-minute mark.
7. Lamborghini Huracan Performante - 6:52.01s
- Lap completed: 2017
Ahead of its big unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016, Lamborghini released footage of its new, track-focused Lamborghini Huracan Performante tearing round the ‘Green Hell’ in an astonishing time of 6:52.01s. Shrouded in a camouflage wrap, the 5.2-litre V10 beast was piloted by test driver Marco Mapelli, who surely gained a handsome bonus on his paycheck at the end of the month. Worth every penny.
6. Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) - 6:47.25s
- Lap completed: 2017
Porsche said it was targeting a lap time in the region of 7:05s when it first conceived the 911 GT2 RS. But it absolutely smashed that figure, and knocked the Lamborghini Huracan Performante off its perch with a blistering record run of 6:47.3 at the hands of test driver Lars Kern in late 2017.
The standard Porsche 911 GT2 RS completed the lap on Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tyres, and although these were developed specifically for this model, they are both road legal and standard for the production car.
5. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ - 6:44.97s
- Lap completed: 2018
Having seen the Huracan Performante dethroned in September 2017, Lamborghini took less than a year to reclaim the lap record at the Nurburgring. This time the company snatched it with the Aventador SVJ, which lowered the benchmark to a 6:44.97s, more than two seconds faster than the GT2 RS, thanks to its 760bhp version of Lambo’s 6.5-litre V12.
The Aventador SVJ is based on the Aventador SV, which itself has lapped the Nurburgring in less than seven minutes, posting a time of 6:59.73s in 2015.
4. Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) - 6:44.848s
- Lap completed: 2022
The 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS certainly looks at home on the Nurburgring (or any track for that matter) and its lap time of 6:44.848 is a decent step up from the 'regular' GT3. Only a small part of that improved time can be attributed to the extra 15bhp. The huge wing and active aero help to deliver three times more downforce than the GT3, which might not be so noticeable on the road, but it certainly makes a difference at the Nurburgring.
3. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series - 6:43.616s
- Lap completed: 2020
The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is the most focused and powerful evolution of the Mercedes-AMG GT with extra aerodynamic downforce to help the uprated twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 put down its 720bhp.
Mercedes says all of the components fitted to the lap-setting car can be fitted to the road car, but AMG engineers were on hand to adjust the aero and chassis settings to optimise the Black Series for the particular strains that the ‘Green Hell’ places on a car. Given that the Black Series moniker usually denotes the most extreme performance version of an AMG Mercedes, this record is unlikely to be topped by an even more powerful AMG GT, but who knows, Mercedes could bring it back for another go.
2. Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991 with Manthey Performance Kit) - 6:38.835s
- Lap completed: 2021
Porsche is clearly no stranger to setting lap records at the Nurburgring. The German manufacturer currently holds the outright lap record after its monstrous 919 Hybrid set a scarcely believable time of 5:19:55s. Porsche and race team Manthey Racing have previously set a blistering 6:40 lap time around the 'Ring, but although the car they used was road legal, the specification it ran to complete that lap time was for track use only.
So, Porsche, Manthey Racing, and development driver and racer Lars Kern gave it another go with a tuned 911 GT2 RS and ended up beating the production car record with a 6:38.835.
1. Mercedes-AMG One - 6:29.090s
- Lap completed: 2024
Mercedes-AMG’s F1-engined road-going hypercar is one of the most recent hybrid hypercar to take on the famous track and obliterate the previous record. The Mercedes-AMG One is powered by a seemingly tiny 1.6-litre V6 petrol engine, but the unit is based on Formula 1 technology and works in tandem with four electric motors to produce a mind-blowing 1,048bhp.
As a result of this immense power and some highly skilled driving by Maro Engel, the Merc managed a truly blistering time of 6:35.183 in 2022. But Mercedes wasn't finished, so car and driver returned to the 'Ring in October 2024, lowering the mark to 6:29.090 minutes, becoming the current production car lap time to beat.
Mercedes claims that the car used for the record-breaking run was technically identical to the standard version, and had the “Race Plus” driving mode engaged.
Other notable Nurburgring lap times
If you thought the above top 10 was a definitive, indisputable list, we have news: plenty of other cars have set lap times that would earn them a place in the top-10 times, but have fallen into somewhat of an automotive grey area. Should a time count if it’s set on special tyres? Should track cars be included? What about prototypes of forthcoming models? The inclusion of the following is up for debate.
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X - 6:49.275
- Lap completed: 2025
Ford might want to go back to the drawing board if it wants to reclaim the title of fastest American car to lap the Nurburgring, as the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X now holds that crown after it set a time of 6:49.275 in June 2025.
The ZR1X has a power output of 1,250bhp, produced by a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid. The crazy part is that this time was set by vehicle dynamics engineer, Drew Cattell, who isn’t a professional racecar driver.
Unfortunately the ZR1X was classified in the Prototype/ pre-production category because the ZR1 isn’t sold in Europe, meaning it can't go on the main list.
Radical SR8 LM – 6:48.28s
- Lap completed: 2009
The 450bhp V8-engined Radical SR8 stretches the definition of a ‘road-legal production car’. Still, it has a 690bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio, meaning it’s rapid. So although we've left it out of our official top 10, it's still worth a mention.
It looks like a race car and you certainly (we hope) wouldn’t attempt to use one on the school run. With approval, it's possible to register one as a road-legal vehicle, and it completed an incredible 6:48s lap in 2009 to install itself in the Nurburgring lap record tree.
NIO EP9 - 6:45.9s
- Lap completed: 2017
The all-electric NIO EP9 set what looked like a lap record on the Nurburgring racetrack with an incredible time of 6:45.9. However, it later transpired that this was done on bespoke NextEV tyres, which is why it doesn't feature in the main list.
McLaren P1 LM - 6:43.2s
- Lap completed: 2017
Right, so we’re deep into ‘grey area’ territory here. The McLaren P1 LM – a road-legal version of the 986bhp, track-only P1 GTR, prepared by specialists Lanzante, set a lap time of 6:43.2, knocking the NIO EP9 from its perch in 2017.
However, as a road-going adaptation of a track car, we’ve decided to leave it out of our top 10, while accepting that its position is very much open for debate.
Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR - 6.40.3s
- Lap completed: 2018
Like the McLaren P1 LM above, this entry also causes some controversy. Unlike the standard Porsche 911 GT2 RS in our top-10 list, this version has been specifically modified to tackle the Nurburgring very quickly.
While the Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR is a road-legal vehicle that was fitted with street-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, it contains additional performance parts from Manthey Racing that give it an edge over the standard production car. Plus, while you can buy the car, it can only be used for track days in that form.
On top of the Manthey Racing parts, the GT2 RS MR also had aerodynamic and chassis adjustments for its record-breaking run.
Fastest Nurburgring lap times (production cars) 2026
- Mercedes-AMG One - 6:29.090s
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991 with Manthey Performance Kit) - 6:38.835s
- Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series - 6:43.616s
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) - 6:44.848s
- Lamborghini Aventador SVJ - 6:44.97s
- Porsche 911 GT2 RS (991.2) - 6:47.25s
- Lamborghini Huracan Performante - 6:52.01s
- Ford Mustang GTD - 6:52.072s
- Porsche 911 GT3 (992) - 6:55.294s
- Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991.2) - 6:56.4s
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