A Zonda F set a lap time of 7:27.82 at the 'Ring. Beating the CGT record by 4 seconds. You can watch a video of the lap here: http://www.supercarmovies.com/html/interface.html
Awesome and doesn't surprise me given its power/weight ratio and the superb handling of the car. The record has to be however for a non racing car as lower times have been recorded around the Ring. Is it possible to somehow download this video?
Excellent Video, thanks for posting. As Andreas said, superb handling with excellent power to weight ratio. Kinda of like a Lotus Elise type handling with Enzo power...
Impressive. Have you seen the video of the new Nissan GT-R (Skyline R35)? Nissan GT-R runs a 7:38 at Nurburgring To me it is even more impressive than the Zonda's time, especially considering the price tag and the weight. The GT-R weighs 3800 lbs. I believe the Zonda weights 2700 lbs. The track was wet in certain portions. 7:38 around the ring is amazing. Nissan will likely be releasing a version that weighs 400 lbs less in the near future. In addition there should be plenty of ways to tune the GT-R when it comes out.
Isn't the overall record held by a 20+ year old Porsche? Well, I know it is, but don't you think that with all the new technology that there would be a car that could brake that record?
Well yes, but you do have to realize that wasnt just any racecar. It was a Porsche 956 ground-effects racecar. I dont know if its possible what I would like to see a modern day F1 car go around the 'Ring.
It helps that the GT-R has awd. I would also like to point out the sound the Zonda makes. Its incredible!
In the Oct. 29 issue of Autoweek, Nissan Chief Engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno stated that the GT-R ran laps of 7:44 and up on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. 400 pounds for what? $40,000? Didn't Nissan use shaved Bridgestone tires at the 'Ring?
BMW wasted that chance this summer when they sent Heidfeld around the ring in the F1 but forced him to do photo stops. Grrr.
7:44? Ok... I subscribe to Autoweek too, but did you click on the video link I posted? 40k, maybe. My point was that it will be faster than the Zonda by that point. 400 lbs over 13 miles should make a 10+ second difference. Do you disagree? Is 40k too much to have that performance? Then spend 1k on a chip to raise the turbo boost pressure, I'm that will also make a difference of at least 1 second per mile at the Nordschleife. Or do both and see how fast it will go. Even at 40k, it will still be in the price range of a 911 Turbo. Don't forget that Porsche switched to Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires on the new GT3, in large part to beat their own old 996 GT3 lap time. Some people believe, myself included, that the 997 GT3 is only marginally better than a 996 GT3 around the ring given the same tire. The tread-wear rating is 80 now!
Andreas, check out this info on Ring lap times and Heidfeld's run from Wikipedia: ____________________________________ Overall Qualifying Lap Record * 6:11.13 - Stefan Bellof, Porsche 956, pole-position for 1983 1000 km Nürburgring (202.073 km/h) Official Race Lap Record * 6:25.91 - Stefan Bellof, Porsche 956, 1983 1000 km Nürburgring * 6:28.03 - Christian Danner, March-BMW 832, Formula 2, 1983 Eifelrennen (193.272 km/h) Motorcycles, Official Lap Record * 7:49.71 - de:Helmut Dähne, HRC-specification Honda VFR750R, fastest officially timed motorcycle lap, during Zuverlässigkeitsfahrt, 1993 (series discontinued after 1994) Motorcycles, unofficial times, Bridge To Gantrytiming method * 7:28.8 - Yamaha YZF-R1 "The Baron" Performance Bikes Magazine October 2007 Unofficial F1 Lap Record On 28 April 2007, Nick Heidfeld drove a BMW Sauber F1.06 Formula One car around the Nordschleife, on a BMW publicity day in combination with a VLN 4h endurance race[1]. For safety reasons, BMW announced that the car was slowed with hard demonstration tyres, maximum ride height, and 275 km/h speed limit. Heidfeld drove the combined Nordschleife and short GP-track, as used in VLN races, with a track length of 24.433 km (so comparison with older records is difficult). The official lap time released by BMW Sauber was declared to be 8:34 (thus ca. 30 secs slower than the fastest Porsche 996 turbo in VLN). The German press duly reported this lap time, yet criticized BMW. In each lap, Heidfeld slowed down once to pose for a slow video truck, at Schwedenkreuz on the first lap 1, Kesselchen in lap 2, and Döttinger Höhe in the last lap. The two time spans in between the three passes of Heidfeld were clocked by some fans around the track, first Wehrseifen to Wehrseifen in about 7:28, then 7:22 from Klostertal to Klostertal, which is over 50 secs quicker than the fastest current Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in VLN. This translates to an average of about 200 km/h, similar to Bellof's record, but considering the slow GP section, Heidfeld probably was faster on the Nordschleife, close to 6 minutes. Fans that respect the official record of the late Stefan Bellof settle for an "estimated 6:12". Road & Track magazine reported Heidfeld's lap was a 5:57 or 5:58 (for the Nordschleife only), breaking the track's six-minute barrier for the first time in history.[1] However, their times were done by measuring the speed in some corners, and then calculating a laptime, and not timing a full lap. A BMW video montage [2] with onboard, track side and helicopter camera views gives a better estimate of 6 minutes 40 seconds to the last corner. Heidfeld has since expressed his desire to repeat the experience with less restriction. Miscellaneous lap times of road cars * 6:55 - Radical SR8, 360 PS/650 kg, Michael Vergers (28 Sep 2005)(video) * 7:11 - McLaren F1, Mika Hakkinen, [2] (* not an official source) * 7:12 - BMW M3 GTR (driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck) * 7:12 - Radical SR3 Turbo, 320 PS/500 kg (test drive 07/03) * 7:14 - Donkervoort D8 RS, 398 PS/760 kg, Michael Düchting (sport auto 11/05) * 7:15 - Edo Porsche 996 GT2 RS, 542 PS/1284 kg, deatrick Simon (sport auto 09/05) * 7:18 - Donkervoort D8 RS, 370 PS/670 kg, Michael Düchting (sport auto 12/04) * 7:22 - BMW M3 CSL (LOADED), ~600 PS/1427 kg incl RG + 30L fuel, Richard Göransson (richardgoransson.com) * 7:28 - Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, 650 PS/1230 kg (09/07) * 7:28 - Porsche Carrera GT, 612 PS/1380 kg, Walter Röhrl, (Autobild 07/04) * 7.32 - Porsche Carrera GT (Sport Auto Trophy, driven by Horst von Saurma) * 7:32 - Pagani Zonda F, 602 PS/1230 kg (Michael Duchting) * 7.32 - Porsche 997 GT2 2008 (Motor Authority, Autobild, driven by Walter Röhrl) * 7.32 - Gemballa Porsche GTR 600 PS/1380 kg (Gemballa) * 7:34 - Koenigsegg CCR, 806 PS/1140 kg (cold conditions), Horst von Saurma (sport auto), Oct 17-18 2005 * 7:38 - Nissan GT-R, 480PS/1720kg (manufacturer claim)(Nissan 10/07) ____________________________________ I realized that I took a picture of Danner's F2 car - here it is. I took that picture at the BMW museum two weekends ago. They also had some F1 motors present - the 3.0L V10, and the late 80s 1.5L turbo that made over 1400 hp in testing.
Oh wow, good stuff! Thanks much for posting that. Awesome. Do you have a link to the mentioned video footage? I found bits and pieces on youtube, but even put together they really don't amount to much. Speaking of footage: There is a video called "In car 956" and it has full length laps of racetracks around the world. Derek Bell drives and commentates (at the same time!) and he does a lap around the ring as well. Awesome footage, not record breaking, but very inspiring and of course in regular quality,not the youtube crap.
Watch the video, Nissan specifically made the in car footage and released it to cope with all the "it didn't really do it in that time" quotes. They also pointed out spots on the track in the video where the corners were wet and the GTR could have gone faster had the conditions been dry. Here's a link if you want to get into the debate over the type of tyres or any other facts you think are false. http://www.nagtroc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20433&hl=
Here's the link to the flash file - you can use some program that allows you to save swf files. Whether that also saves the lap I don't know. http://www.supercarmovies.com/html/contentMAINFRAME.swf
Ah, got it. I have the footage of the guy before (Radical) and after (M3) him. Yes, a modern F1 at full tilt on the Nordschleife is a wet dream.
Andreas, I think Tom was referring to Mika in a McLaren F1 Car not a Formula One car. Probably LeMans Spec or GTR Spec.
Ok, that would make more sense. I have seen Mika in a F1 in the snow in Finland, so I'm sure I would have heard if he had ever taken it to the Ring.
Thanks much! AVI is my fav format as it is the easiest to work with in further editing this. Also thanks to phylotic and nopassn for offering their links and help. Getting a file like this just makes my day. Seriously. I collect stuff like this. Now about the video: It looks absolutely fantastic and stunning, but is it doctored? I don't mean that they cheated, but the video of the inboard AND the outboard is so crisp and clear, that it looks like a composite. I mean normally you either get the lighting inside the cabin right with the downside of a washed out background or you get the outside with a darkened inside. They got both perfectly illuminated and at the edges (around the controls of the dashboard) it looks so crisp, more like a video game. My feeling is, that they combined inside and outside shots. Nevertheless this is easily the most amazing in car video around the Ring I have ever seen. And for all the PGR3/4 and Forza1/2 players: The Ring looks exactly like in the games. Turn for friggin turn.
A tuned and souped up Porsche 911 of some kind, street legal, did 7:15. The video is on youtube somewhere, I'll find it.
