Nurburgring Lap Times: the records by class and how they are timed

Nurburgring lap times are measured on the Nordschleife, the 20.832 km northern loop of the Nurburgring (Nürburgring in German) in Germany’s Eifel mountains, and the fastest ever is the 5min 19.546sec that Timo Bernhard drove in a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo on 29 June 2018. The fastest road car is the Mercedes-AMG ONE, with 6:29.090 by Maro Engel on 23 September 2024. Manufacturers publish Nurburgring lap times because, in the words of the circuit’s managing director Christian Stephani in a January 2026 interview, “a fast lap on the Nordschleife is the most visible quality promise a manufacturer can make”. Since 2019 the circuit itself has timed and certified them on the loop Jackie Stewart called the “Green Hell”.

Before 2019 most laps ran over a shorter 20.6 km version of the loop; the circuit now times the whole 20.832 km lap from a flying start. The tables below give each time with its layout, so like can be set against like. The race laps of the Nurburgring 24 Hours use a longer combined track and are covered on that page.

Nurburgring lap times and records by class

The Nürburgring lists record laps by vehicle category, using the segments of Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) and a few special classes of its own, its record drives page says. These are the fastest official Nurburgring lap times in the main classes on the 20.832 km lap, as the circuit and the manufacturers published them. Porsche’s development driver Lars Kern holds three of them, in a 911 GT2 RS, a Taycan and a Panamera.

The circuit files the 919 Evo among the prototypes, its 2020 report on the AMG GT Black Series shows, so the Ford GT Mk IV is the fastest prototype or pre-production car after the 919 Evo and the electric ID.R. One more class time is recent: the electric Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ did 7:32.070 with Kevin Berger on 28 July 2026, a time Mercedes-Benz called best in class. The autonomous lap opened a class of its own: the circuit added an “Autonomous Driving” category after the Xiaomi went round with nobody in it.

How Nurburgring lap times are measured

An official lap is one full lap of the Nordschleife, 20.832 km, from a flying start, beginning and ending at the Nordschleife start and finish line in the section called T13. The rules came in with the 2019 season. A notary supervises the timing, which uses calibrated equipment, and TÜV Rheinland, an independent testing organisation, checks that a production car is in standard condition; racing cars, prototypes and concept cars are timed without that check, the circuit’s rules for record drives say.

Full lap: 20.832 km since 2019

The full lap includes the stretch past the T13 start line that the older timing left out. Renault explained the change in its May 2019 release for the Mégane R.S. Trophy-R: until that year most times and unofficial records were taken over 20.600 km, from the end of the start and finish straight to its beginning, and from 2019 the official course became the whole 20.832 km lap. Its car did 7:40.100 on the short lap and 7:45.389 on the full one, on 5 April 2019, so the extra 232 metres cost it 5.3 seconds. The Mégane was a production model with ECE approval and no modifications, the condition for the compact class.

The 20.6 km lap used before 2019

Times from before 2019, the famous ones included, are mostly 20.6 km laps. Honda’s April 2023 release for the Honda Civic Type R put it plainly: before 2019 lap times were measured over 20.600 km and were not officially certified by the Nürburgring. Some makers now give both figures. Porsche said its 911 GT2 RS’s 6:43.300 in 2021 was equal to 6:38.835 on the old lap, and its 911 GT3 RS did 6:49.328 and 6:44.848 on the same run in 2022, the Nürburgring reported. On those figures the extra length costs a fast road car about four and a half seconds.

Bridge to gantry and tourist laps

On the public tourist days (“Touristenfahrten”) timing is banned. The circuit’s driving regulations forbid timekeeping of any kind, “so-called BTG lap times” included, tell drivers to switch timing devices off before a lap, and set a €250 contractual penalty for each breach; races and attempts at speed records are also against German criminal law (section 315d of the Strafgesetzbuch). BTG (“bridge to gantry”) times cover a shorter stretch than the full lap: a 2013 SkiddMark report noted that the full circuit is around a mile longer.

Who times the laps

Three kinds of time get published. Official times are taken by the circuit under the rules above. Before 2019, makers timed laps in their own test sessions with their own drivers; Porsche’s 918 Spyder record of 2013 was one. Magazines time cars too: the German magazine sport auto timed the BMW M3 GTS at 7:48 in 2010, as the BMW M3 GTS page records.

What is the fastest lap ever at the Nurburgring?

The fastest of all Nurburgring lap times is 5:19.546 by the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo, driven by Timo Bernhard on 29 June 2018, at an average of 233.8 km/h; Porsche rounded it to 5:19.55 and the circuit lists it to the thousandth. The Evo was the Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid freed from the World Endurance Championship’s limits on fuel and electric energy: 1,160 hp from its two-litre V4 and front electric motor together, 849 kg, more than 50 per cent more downforce than the race car, and 369.4 km/h on the Döttinger Höhe, according to Porsche’s release of 29 June 2018.

The one-off Lotus Evija X, an electric hypercar with track aerodynamics, did its 6:24.047 with Dirk Müller on a damp track on 13 October 2023, on only its second lap, CAR magazine reported.

Stefan Bellof’s 6:11.13 in 1983

For 35 years the record was Stefan Bellof’s 6:11.13, set in practice for the 1000 km race on 28 May 1983 in a Rothmans Porsche 956. The Grand Prix circuit was being rebuilt, so the cars ran on the Nordschleife alone with the pits on the Döttinger Höhe, and Bellof averaged more than 200 km/h, Porsche’s Christophorus magazine recorded. Bernhard beat the time by 51.58 seconds. Volkswagen’s 2016 account of a record lap names the S-bend before the Döttinger Höhe the Stefan-Bellof S.

Formula One at the Nordschleife

Grand Prix cars raced on a longer lap. The German Grand Prix used the full 22.835 km Nordschleife with its old pits loop, Motor Sport’s September 1975 report notes, and Niki Lauda was the first driver to go round it in under seven minutes, taking pole for the 1975 race in his Ferrari in 6min 58.6sec, Pirelli’s history of the circuit records. “I’m never going to do that again,” Lauda said afterwards. “It’s too big a risk.” The German Grand Prix later moved to Hockenheim, where Lauda won in 1977, Pirelli’s history adds.

Fastest production car Nurburgring lap times

The production car lap record belongs to the Mercedes-AMG ONE, a hypercar with Formula One hybrid drive technology, one combustion engine and four electric motors, 782 kW (1,063 hp) in all. Maro Engel lapped in 6:29.090 on 23 September 2024 at 6.56pm, on his third timed lap, with the air at 15°C and the track at 20°C, and the AMG ONE became the first road car under 6:30, Mercedes-Benz said. Maro Engel used the car’s Energy Flow Control and lifted off early in places to save battery charge. It beat his own 6:35.183 of 28 October 2022, set on the last attempt of a day when parts of the track were still damp.

The Corvette ZR1X’s time is listed with the prototypes and pre-production cars in the circuit’s 2025 summary. Chevrolet ran the Z06 (7:11.826), ZR1 (6:50.763) and ZR1X in June 2025, each driven by an engineer who had developed it, the circuit reported. Four of the ten are Porsches with kits from Manthey Racing, the Nordschleife specialists at Meuspath, who develop them with Porsche’s engineers and sell them through Porsche Centres. The 718 Cayman GT4 RS with the Manthey kit did 7:03.121 with Bergmeister in July 2023, 6.179 seconds quicker than the standard GT4 RS a year earlier, the circuit reported. The hybrid 911 Turbo S (992.2) carries 85 kg more than its predecessor, and Jörg Bergmeister still lapped it in 7:03.92 in autumn 2024, about 14 seconds quicker, through changes to the chassis, aerodynamics and tyres, the circuit reported.

How the production car record fell

The first four records below were set before the 2019 rules, when makers timed the 20.6 km lap, as Honda’s and Renault’s footnotes explain. Porsche’s 918 Spyder was the first road-legal car under seven minutes, with 6:57 by Marc Lieb on 4 September 2013, 14 seconds inside the previous record. Lamborghini answered with the Huracán Performante supercar and Marco Mapelli’s 6:52.01; Porsche took the record back with the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, starting the lap at 7.11pm on 20 September 2017 in ideal conditions and in front of a notary, and Lamborghini’s Aventador SVJ went quicker again in July 2018. The Lamborghini Aventador page has more on that car. McLaren said its P1 had gone under seven minutes in 2013 but never published the time, as the McLaren P1 page explains.

The AMG GT Black Series’ 6:48.047 of 2020 was an official full-lap time, so it reads slower than the SVJ’s 6:44.97 on the shorter lap. Engel set it at 7°C with parts of the track not fully dry, the circuit noted. The 2021 GT2 RS beat it by 4.747 seconds at 185.87 km/h on a 41°C track.

Disputed and unofficial road-car times

Some famous times sit outside these lists. A Radical SR8 LM lapped in 6:48 with Michael Vergers in 2009, and SkiddMark’s 2010 list of Nordschleife videos called it the “present ’Ring record for a production vehicle”; it is not in the circuit’s official lists, which began in 2019. Nissan’s claims for the GT-R, from 7:38 in 2007 to the Nismo’s 7:08.679, and Porsche’s dispute over them are set out on the Nissan GT-R R35 page. The Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package did 7:14.64 in 2011, a time Lexus set in its own session.

Electric car Nurburgring lap times

The electric record holder is the Volkswagen ID.R, an EV racing car, with 6:05.336, driven by Romain Dumas and announced on 3 June 2019. It beat the Nio EP9’s 2017 time, driven by Peter Dumbreck, by 40.564 seconds at an average of 204.96 km/h, Volkswagen said. The ID.R had already set the outright record at Pikes Peak in 2018, and for the Nordschleife its aerodynamics were set for speed over downforce.

The best electric road-car time fell by 40 seconds between 2021 and 2026. The Nürburgring opened a category for electric production cars in 2021 with the Tesla Model S Plaid’s 7:35.579, driven by Andreas Simonsen, the circuit announced.

The table mixes the circuit’s electric classes, which is why Porsche could call the Taycan’s slower 7:07.55 a class best. Rimac’s 7:05.298 was 7:00.928 on the 20.6 km lap, on Michelin Cup 2 R tyres, Rimac’s release says; Martin Kodrić said the team had picked one of the hottest days of the summer. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme was the first electric super sports car under seven minutes, after testing on the Nordschleife since July 2024. The fastest lap of 2025 by the circuit’s count was the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Prototype’s 6:22.091 with David Pittard on 1 April, 24 seconds quicker than its first attempt.

Front-wheel-drive Nurburgring lap record

The front-wheel-drive record is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50’s 7:44.523, driven by Benjamin Leuchter and announced on 7 May 2026. The 239 kW (325 PS) Golf ran with the optional Performance package, which lowers it a further 5 mm and fits 19-inch forged wheels on Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres, Volkswagen said. It beat the Honda Civic Type R’s 7:44.881 of 2023 by 0.358 seconds.

Renault, Honda, SEAT and Volkswagen have traded this record since 2008, when the Mégane R.S. R26.R did 8:17, the first front-wheel-drive production car record in Renault’s account.

The SEAT was the first front-wheel-drive production car under eight minutes, and Renault’s Trophy-R went quicker the same year; the SEAT averaged 96 mph and touched 150 mph at Tiergarten on a dry 8°C track, SEAT said. Volkswagen’s release for the Clubsport S describes a full lap: “One lap. 20.832 kilometres. A flying start.” It ran on the Leon’s optional Performance Pack with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, which a 2014 SkiddMark report reckoned could be worth 5 to 10 seconds a lap. The same report quoted Manabu Nishimae, President of Honda Motor Europe, saying in 2013 that the next Civic Type R “will aim to become the fastest front-wheel-drive vehicle on the Nürburgring race course”. Honda’s footnote says its 2023 time was measured on the full 20.832 km lap; the 2017 Civic’s 7:43.8 was a 20.6 km time, so the two cannot be compared directly.

Lap times for SUVs, saloons, estates and vans

The circuit’s classes follow the KBA’s vehicle segments, so SUVs, saloons, estates, compact cars and vans each have a record of their own. The sections below give the fastest official time in each, with Subaru’s 2010 lap and the Revo van lap of 2013 from before the official lists.

Fastest SUV at the Nurburgring

The fastest SUV is the electric Xiaomi YU7 GT, with 7:22.755 driven by Vincent Radermecker on 2 April 2026; it was the first car in the circuit’s class for electric SUVs, off-road vehicles, vans and pick-ups. The fastest combustion SUV is the Audi RS Q8 performance, which Frank Stippler drove round the 20.832 km in 7:36.698, more than two seconds inside the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT’s time, auto motor und sport reported in June 2024. The 2.4-tonne Audi ran on optional 23-inch wheels. Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo GT had done 7:38.925 with Lars Kern at 11.31am on 14 June 2021, on a 46°C track.

Saloons and four-door cars

The fastest production four-door car is the Taycan Turbo GT with Manthey kit, at 6:55.533. The Jaguar XE SV Project 8, with a 600 PS supercharged 5.0-litre V8, lapped the 20.6 km in 7:18.361 and the full lap in 7:23.164 with Vincent Radermecker in 2019, the first official whole-lap record in the mid-range class, Jaguar said on 24 July 2019. Among combustion and hybrid saloons the record is the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid’s 7:24.172, which Lars Kern drove on 12 July 2024 with a racing seat and safety cage; Kern had set Panamera class records in 2016 and 2020 as well. Subaru’s WRX STI Type RA NBR Special, a Prodrive-built time-attack car of more than 600 hp on a 2017 WRX STI body, lapped the 20.6 km in 6:57.5 with Richie Stanaway on slick tyres, timed on the circuit’s equipment, Subaru of America said. Seven years earlier, a 2010 SkiddMark report covered Subaru’s video series of Tommi Mäkinen lapping a near-standard 2010 WRX STI, with only a roll cage and rally belts added, in 7:55 and a top speed of 255 km/h.

Estates and compact cars

The BMW M3 CS Touring is the fastest estate, with 7:29.490 on 11 April 2025, the circuit reported, and on the same day Jörg Weidinger took the M2 CS round in 7:25.534, the best time for a compact car, the circuit’s 2025 summary says.

Van lap records

The fastest van is Ford’s electric Transit SuperVan 4.2, a demonstrator of around 2,000 PS that Romain Dumas drove round the full lap in 6:48.393 in August 2025, the same day he did 6:43.482 in the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, the circuit reported. On Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson beside her, Sabine Schmitz drove a Ford Transit round in about 10min 8sec from bridge to gantry; in June 2013 Dale Lomas, of the Bridge To Gantry website, lapped the whole circuit in 9:57.36 in a Volkswagen T5 van tuned by Revo, a 2013 SkiddMark report recorded. The van had 80,000 miles on it; Revo raised its 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel from 180 bhp to 220 bhp and fitted a Milltek exhaust, a Forge intercooler and oil cooler, Bilstein B14 coilovers and Dunlop Direzza tyres. His time from bridge to gantry was 9:22. “I’d love to see what we could do on a clear track,” Lomas said afterwards.

Why car makers chase Nurburgring lap times

Manufacturers chase Nurburgring lap times because the Nordschleife is where many of their engineers develop their cars, and a record lap is the public result of that work. The circuit sets the loop aside for 17 weeks a year for its “Test and Development Drives”, known informally as the industry pool, Ingo Böder of the Nürburgring said in the January 2026 interview quoted above; his colleague Christian Stephani said one kilometre on the Nordschleife can stress a car as much as up to 20 kilometres on public roads. The loop has 73 corners, about 300 metres of elevation change, gradients of up to 18 per cent on the climb to Hohe Acht and up to 11 per cent down through the Fuchsröhre, by the circuit’s own figures.

An official attempt needs a booked record slot. The circuit documented 20 “record slots” in 2025, each a block of up to a day rented by one company, and 14 of them produced a time that was published, its 2025 summary says. Nicolas Raeder, Manthey Racing’s managing director, said in its release of April 2026 that the Eifel weather had spoiled earlier slots for the GT3 RS.

James May wrote in a Top Gear website column in 2009 that the Nürburgring “corrupts performance when it’s used by car makers to develop new models”; “a lot of performance cars I drive lack proper feel. I blame the Nürburgring,” he added.

The circuit now posts the onboard video of each official record lap on its YouTube channel; among older films, SkiddMark’s 2010 list of ten Nordschleife videos put Ruf’s CTR “Yellowbird” lapping sideways at number one.

Questions

How many corners does the Nordschleife have?

73, by the circuit’s count, with about 300 metres of elevation change, gradients of up to 18 per cent on the climb to Hohe Acht and up to 11 per cent down through the Fuchsröhre.

How long is a lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife?

An official lap is 20.832 km, about 12.9 miles, from a flying start at the T13 start line. Most times set before 2019 used a 20.6 km version that left out part of the straight.

What is the fastest Porsche at the Nurburgring?

The 919 Hybrid Evo, with 5:19.546, is the fastest car of any kind. The fastest road-going Porsche is the 911 GT2 RS with the Manthey Performance Kit, with 6:43.300 in June 2021.

Can you time your own lap on a tourist day?

No. The circuit’s driving regulations ban timing of any kind on tourist days, bridge-to-gantry times included, and set a €250 penalty for each breach.

What is a bridge to gantry time?

An unofficial time over a shorter stretch of the Nordschleife than the full lap, from a bridge to a gantry; the full circuit is around a mile longer, so BTG times are not comparable with official laps. The circuit bans them on tourist days.

Which electric car is fastest at the Nurburgring?

The Volkswagen ID.R racing car, with 6:05.336 in 2019. Among production electric cars, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme did 6:59.157 in August 2025 and the Taycan Turbo GT with Manthey kit did 6:55.533 in 2026, in different classes.

Who is the fastest driver ever at the Nurburgring?

Timo Bernhard, whose 5:19.546 in 2018 is the fastest lap of the Nordschleife. Before him the record was Stefan Bellof’s 6:11.13 from 1983, which stood for 35 years.

What is the fastest Porsche Cayman at the Nurburgring?

The 718 Cayman GT4 RS with the Manthey kit, with 7:03.121 driven by Jörg Bergmeister in July 2023, 6.179 seconds quicker than the standard GT4 RS.

Sources

• Nürburgring 1927 GmbH, “Record Drives”: the 20.832 km lap from a flying start at T13, the notary and the KBA categories (read 28 October 2026).
• Nürburgring, “Record chase on the Nordschleife: the official best times 2025”, 11 December 2025: the 2025 times, the 20 record slots and 14 published times, the BMW M2 CS and the ZR1X.
• Nürburgring, “Between secrecy and global appeal”, 27 January 2026: the 17 weeks of test drives and the stress comparison.
• Nürburgring, driving regulations for tourist drives: the ban on timing and BTG times, the €250 penalty, section 315d StGB.
• Nürburgring, “Nordschleife”: 73 corners, 300 metres of elevation, gradients.
• Nürburgring news pages, 2020–2026, each linked in the text or tables: the official times for the 911 Turbo S, the Ford GT Mk IV, Mustang GTD and GTD Competition, Ford SuperVan and SuperTruck, Corvettes, Yangwang U9 Xtreme, Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, SU7 Ultra Prototype and YU7 GT, Taycans, Tesla Model S Plaid, Rimac Nevera, Panamera, BMW M3 CS Touring, 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey, AMG GT Black Series, AMG CLA 45 and the 911 GT3, GT3 RS and Manthey GT3.
• Porsche, “5:19.55 minutes: Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo takes record in the Green Hell”, 29 June 2018: the outright record, the Evo’s specification and Bellof’s 1983 lap.
• Porsche Christophorus no. 381, “Where legends are made”: Bellof’s 6:11.13 of 28 May 1983 and the 918 Spyder’s 6:57 of 4 September 2013.
• Porsche, “GT2 RS is the fastest 911 of all time at 6 minutes, 47.3 seconds”, 2017: the 20 September 2017 lap and the 6:52.01 it beat.
• Porsche, “6:43.300 minutes: Porsche sets new lap record”, 24 June 2021: the 2021 record and its 20.6 km equivalent.
• Porsche, “Performance Cayenne conquers the Nürburgring Nordschleife in record time”, 2021: the Cayenne Turbo GT’s 7:38.925.
• Manthey, “6:45.389 minutes: Porsche 911 GT3 RS Manthey Kit sets official lap time on the Nordschleife”: the GT3 RS Manthey lap; dated from PistonHeads’ report of 17 April 2026.
• Mercedes-Benz, “6:29.090 min: Mercedes-AMG ONE breaks its own lap record on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife”, 2024: the lap of 23 September 2024 and how it was driven.
• Mercedes-Benz, “6:35,183 min: Mercedes-AMG ONE ist die Nummer 1 auf der Nürburgring-Nordschleife”, 10 November 2022: the lap of 28 October 2022.
• Volkswagen, “6:05.336 minutes: Volkswagen ID.R sets new electric record on the Nürburgring”, 3 June 2019: the electric record.
• Volkswagen, “Golf GTI EDITION 50 is the fastest front-wheel drive production model on the Nürburgring Nordschleife”, 7 May 2026: the front-wheel-drive record.
• Volkswagen press release no. 170/2016, “Chronology of a record-setting drive”, May 2016: the Golf GTI Clubsport S’s 7:49.21.
• Renault, “New Megane R.S. Trophy-R: record at the Nürburgring”, 21 May 2019: the 2019 times on both layouts, the change of lap length, and the 2008 and 2011 Mégane records.
• Honda, “2017 Honda Civic Type R sets new front-wheel drive lap record at Nürburgring”, 24 April 2017: the 7:43.8 of 3 April 2017.
• Honda Motor Co. release, reproduced by Automotive World, 20 April 2023: the 7:44.881 and the footnote on the 20.6 km lap.
• SEAT release, “SEAT Leon Cupra 280 DSG laps Nordschleife circuit in 7:58.4 minutes”, 4 March 2014, reproduced by seatcupra.net: the 2014 record and its conditions.
• Jaguar release, reproduced by Automotive World, 24 July 2019: the XE SV Project 8’s 7:18.361 and 7:23.164.
• CAR magazine, “Silent rage: when Lotus went to the Nürburgring”: the Lotus Evija X’s 6:24.047 of 13 October 2023.
• Mercedes-Benz, “Best in Class on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife: Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 sets new record”, 2026: the CLA 45’s class best.
• auto motor und sport, “Audi RS Q8 mit neuem Rekord auf der Nordschleife”, 28 June 2024: the RS Q8 performance’s 7:36.698.
• Subaru of America, “New video: watch the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Special set a sub-seven minute lap”, 4 August 2017: the 6:57.5.
• The Drive, “Lamborghini Huracán Performante shatters Nürburgring record by 5 seconds”, 1 March 2017: the 6:52.01 and Marco Mapelli.
• The Drive, “Watch the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ bust the Nürburgring lap record”, 26 July 2018: the 6:44.97.
• Motor Sport, “The German Grand Prix: reality”, September 1975: the 22.835 km lap of the 1975 race.
• Pirelli, “Nürburgring in flames”: Lauda’s 6:58.6 pole in 1975, the first lap under seven minutes.
• James May, “Why the ’Ring?”, Top Gear, 11 June 2009: his view of Nürburgring development (read in the web.archive.org copy).
• SkiddMark reports, 2010–2014: the top ten Nürburgring videos (May 2010); Subaru and Tommi Mäkinen’s 7:55 lap (August 2010); the Revo VW T5 van lap (21 June 2013); the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 front-wheel-drive record (5 March 2014): the Radical, Subaru 2010 and van laps, the Honda quote, the tyre estimate and the Yellowbird video.