Advertisement

Top five fastest road cars to lap the Nürburgring

A performance-oriented car’s lap time on the Nürburgring has gone from being a legitimate means of testing it under challenging road conditions to a way of conferring bragging rights and a marketing advantage on the sales floor. The top spots in the Nürburgring pecking order are constantly changing, as each manufacturer develops a new version of their highest performer and sends it out on the ‘Ring in an attempt to post a lap time that will place their car at the top of the list.

Maro Engel, driver, with Mercedes-AMG One<p>Mercedes-Benz</p>
Maro Engel, driver, with Mercedes-AMG One

Mercedes-Benz

Here are the current top five fastest road cars to lap the Nürburgring. To be included, every car must be road-legal at the time it sets its hot lap. No racing tires are allowed, as well as no special enhancements that are not available to the owners of such a car.

Related: 2025 MINI Cooper JCW goes electric — will it perform or shatter its racing legacy?

Mercedes-AMG One<p>Mercedes-Benz</p>
Mercedes-AMG One

Mercedes-Benz

1. Mercedes-AMG One - 6:29.090

The Mercedes-AMG One hypercar not only established a new Nürburgring lap record for production cars on September 23, 2024 - it is also the only car to break the 6:30 barrier while doing it.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Mercedes-AMG One uses Formula One technology, with a 1.6-Liter V6 electrically-turbocharged hybrid engine that can rev to 11,000 rpm. Electric motors are located on both the engine and the electrically-driven front axle, providing fully variable all-wheel drive. Total system horsepower is 1,049.

Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Racing<p>Porsche</p>
Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey Racing

Porsche

2. Porsche 911 GT2 RS Manthey - 6:43.300

A Porsche 911 GT2 RS equipped with the Manthey Performance Kit currently holds the number two spot on the Nürburgring lap record list, set in June 2021. The Manthey Kit can be purchased by Porsche owners through Porsche Centers.

The kit consists of improved aerodynamic elements like front spoiler flaps, carbon underbody, new rear spoiler, upgraded diffuser, and rear wheels fitted with aerodiscs. The 700-horsepower GT2 RS’ coilover suspension is optimized for track use, with multi-adjustable shocks. The PCCB ceramic brakes get special racing pads, while the special magnesium wheels are lighter than stock. An additional water tank aids spray-cooling of the engine’s intercoolers, allowing more time between refills.

Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series<p>Mercedes-Benz</p>
Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series

Mercedes-Benz

3. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series - 6:48.047

The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is in third place in the Nürburgring lap time rankings, While it took the top spot back in 2020 when it set its record, it has recently been eclipsed by its high-tech sibling, the Mercedes-AMG One.

The AMG GT Black put down 720 horsepower from its 4.0-Liter twin-turbo V8, driving the rear wheels through a 7-speed DCT. Zero-to-60 mph comes up in 3.1 seconds, with a top speed of 202 mph.

Related: 2025 Audi SQ7 Review: Could this 500-hp family SUV be the ultimate sleeper?

Porsche 911 GT3 RS<p>Porsche</p>
Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Porsche

4. Porsche 911 GT3 RS - 6:49.328

Another Porsche track-focused car has joined the list, this one normally aspirated. The 518-horsepower 911 GT3 RS has come within six seconds of its turbocharged GT2 RS sibling not with sheer power, but with improved aerodynamics and downforce.

This remarkable time was set in October 2022 by a 911 GT3 RS with the Weissach package, for which Porsche claims total downforce of 1,896 pounds (860 kg) at 177 mph (285 kph), triple that of a standard 911 GT3.

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ<p>Lamborghini</p>
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Lamborghini

5. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ - 6:44.97*

Keeping this from being an all-German affair is our fifth-place finisher, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, which took the top production-car spot when it set its record time back in 2018, just before its unveiling at Monterey Car Week. A development of the SV (which set its own record of 6:59.73 in 2015), The “J” stands for Jota, which denotes a track-focused car in Lamborghinese.

The Aventador SVJ featured a combination of the ALA 2.0 active-aero system for improved downforce and handling, a reengineered all-wheel drive system, rear-wheel steering, a stiffer body, and retuned steering. The Aventador SVJ was powered by a 6.5-Liter, 770-horsepower V12 engine.

*There is an asterisk placed after the SVJ's time because it was set in 2018 on a shorter, 20.6 km track. That length was used (and is still used by some magazines) due to the way that track access had been historically managed. For the past few years, the Nürburgring has mandated that the full, 20.832 km track be driven with a flying start in order to be certified. The longer track adds approximately four to five seconds per lap.

Related: Mazda's vision of the future — inside tomorrow's revolutionary cars