Maserati Smashes Nürburgring Lap Record

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It’s the kind of discussion that often crops up when car guys get together – which is the fastest? If money was no object, what supercar would you go for?

Well, on lucky person – with the aid of a support team and a professional driver – set out to answer the question, by seeing which of five supercars would be the quickest around the legendary ‘Green Hell’, the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

And in the process, to see if any could set a new production car lap record around the 12.8 mile long circuit.

The cars in question, in alphabetical order, were an Enzo Ferrari, Koenigsegg CCX, Maserati MC12, Pagani Zonda F Clubsport and Porsche Carrera GT. These five – worth a cool $4.25 million in total – belong to one extremely lucky owner, who keeps them stabled close to the Nürburgring track. His support team enlisted the aid of American Le Mans Series racer Marc Basseng to do the driving, and evo magazine was on hand to record the results.

None of these cars are what might be termed ‘slow’ – they all make in excess of 600 hp, with the Koenigsegg tuned to make a frightening 901 hp. Yet the CCX, the most expensive car in the group, took the longest to complete a lap – fast in a straight line, the peaky way in which the power is delivered made it challenging to control. Next up was the Porsche Carrera GT, with the lap in 7:28.71 - meaning that Basseng matched the time set by factory driver Walter Röhrl in the final stages of the car’s development.

Third quickest was the Enzo Ferrari, with a very impressive 7:25.21. It might have been able to go quicker – but the electronic dampers at the rear of the car stopped working, on two separate laps on different days. The time is a tribute to Basseng’s perseverance and skill.

Second quickest was the Pagani, a bespoke creation of a small Italian niche builder, its enormous 7.3 liter Mercedes engine contributed to a remarkable time of 7:24.65. That’s an average of more than 103mph, on a track which has blind crests and turns, bumps and jumps, and almost no run-off areas.

The MC12 posted an incredible 7:24.29, not only fastest of the group but also setting a new production car lap record in the process. Surely the question is how much of a production car the MC12 is and how official it is as there is no such thing as Official Ring Record.

In August Dodge Viper ACR managed to lap the Nürburgring in 7.22. That time has not been confirmed yet.
Source: Maserati