Lamborghini Huracan Performante Shatters Nürburgring Lap Record Ahead Of Geneva Reveal
I remember as a teenager wanting a Lamborghini Diablo. It was my dream car, an exotic beast that probably would have seen me wrapped around a telephone poll had I come up with the funds back then. These days the Diablo is no longer being produced and if you asked me what my dream car is now, I'd have to strongly consider the Lamborghini Huracán Perfromante. Though it won't be officially revealed until next week. it's already making noise for setting a new production lap record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany.
It completed a full lap in just 6 minutes and 52.01 seconds. To make the feat more remarkable, the driver was under pressure to set the record in just one attempt. Due to prior events, by the time official track checks were completed, there was just a 15-minute window for Lamborghini to make a singe run, which it did in a production Huracán Performante still dressed int its development camouflage.
Test driver Marco Mapelli took the wheel for the record run. He also drove the Aventador SV to a sub-seven minute lap at Nürburgring two years ago. That run resulted in a 6min 59sec lap time that was less than three seconds behind the then-record holder Porsche 918 Spyder. This time there would be no conceding defeat.
As the six-minute mark was ticking, the Huracán Perfromante headed down the long stretch with only three corners to go. When it passed the line at 6:52.01 minutes, it was the new record holder, having outpaced the Porsche 918 Spyder by five seconds.
"This was an incredible and emotional moment," says Stefano Domenicali. "Together with Maurizio Reggiani we agreed during the car’s development that with the technical and performance prowess of the Huracán Performante, not only was a sub seven-minute lap at the Nordschleife possible, but the lap record too. We wanted to achieve the Nürburgring victory in advance of the Performante’s launch, which was a challenge in terms of weather and availability of the Nordschleife. Not only did we take the lap record, we took it by some seconds!"
The feat was made possible in part due to adjustable air channels and flaps on both sides of the vehicle that add to its aerodynamics and stability going into those corners at high speeds. Going down the long stretch, the car got up to 188 miles per hour.
Lamborghini will officially unveil the car at the 2017 Geneva auto show on March 7.
It completed a full lap in just 6 minutes and 52.01 seconds. To make the feat more remarkable, the driver was under pressure to set the record in just one attempt. Due to prior events, by the time official track checks were completed, there was just a 15-minute window for Lamborghini to make a singe run, which it did in a production Huracán Performante still dressed int its development camouflage.
Test driver Marco Mapelli took the wheel for the record run. He also drove the Aventador SV to a sub-seven minute lap at Nürburgring two years ago. That run resulted in a 6min 59sec lap time that was less than three seconds behind the then-record holder Porsche 918 Spyder. This time there would be no conceding defeat.
As the six-minute mark was ticking, the Huracán Perfromante headed down the long stretch with only three corners to go. When it passed the line at 6:52.01 minutes, it was the new record holder, having outpaced the Porsche 918 Spyder by five seconds.
"This was an incredible and emotional moment," says Stefano Domenicali. "Together with Maurizio Reggiani we agreed during the car’s development that with the technical and performance prowess of the Huracán Performante, not only was a sub seven-minute lap at the Nordschleife possible, but the lap record too. We wanted to achieve the Nürburgring victory in advance of the Performante’s launch, which was a challenge in terms of weather and availability of the Nordschleife. Not only did we take the lap record, we took it by some seconds!"
The feat was made possible in part due to adjustable air channels and flaps on both sides of the vehicle that add to its aerodynamics and stability going into those corners at high speeds. Going down the long stretch, the car got up to 188 miles per hour.
Lamborghini will officially unveil the car at the 2017 Geneva auto show on March 7.
