McLaren P1 LM Beats NIO EP9 Electric Supercar for Nurburgring Title

Two weeks ago, the NIO EP9 set the all time fastest record around the Nurburgring. The EP9 electric supercar had already set the set the record as the fastest purely electric car around the Nürburgring with a 7:05.12 lap, however the weather was so-so at the time. So, NIO says they went back to set a sub-seven-minute ‘ring time just because they could, setting a new record in the process, running the ring in 6:45.09 with dry and optimal track conditions. That time, 6:45.09, not only crushed its own time, but the EP9 just barely beat the semi-road legal Radical SR8LM (6:48) as well as the Lamborghini Huracán Performante (6:52.01). In fact, the EP9 is now at the top of Nürburgring Lap Times’ board. Until McLaren decided it wasn’t going to be bested…

But last week, British manufacturer McLaren decided to test out its hybrid P1 LM — the street-legal version of its track car, the P1 GTR — and decidedly smashed the EP9’s record by two seconds and the Lamborghini Huracán Performante’s time by almost nine.

Many people are crying foul with Chinese manufacturer NIO’s 1,342 HP electric supercar, and whether its is really a production car at all. Furthermore, many have argued that it completed the circuit with track only (read non-road legal) tires. Same with the McLaren, for that matter, since the P1 LM is an extremely limited edition version (read: five of them) of an already limited edition version of their P1 hypercar.

Competiion for the fastest Nurburgring time will alway exist, just as the battle for 0-60 mph times will never cease to exist. Its only a matter of time before NIO, McLaren and even Lamborghini for that matter are surpassed by another car for title of fastest time ’round the ring.