Nio EP9 EV Smashes Huracan Performante 'Ring Lap With 6min 45sec Effort

The 1341bhp EV hypercar has knocked six seconds off the Performante's record-breaking Nordschleife time, but its production car status is up for debate...

Matt Robinson

12 May 2017

Back when NextEV’s Nio EP9 electric hypercar clocked a 7min 5sec Nurburgring lap time, we were told by the test drivers that it wasn’t running at 100 per cent for any part of the effort. The reason was heat management of the batteries: take that issue away, and Nelson Piquet Jr reckoned it would be good for a “six minute 40-something lap”. He was right.

We’re not entirely sure what the team behind the effort did to stop the batteries from heating up too much (we’re currently trying to find out), but whatever they did clearly worked. Nio is claiming an astonishing 6min 45.9sec lap, some six seconds faster than the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. It’s faster even than the Radical SR9 LM.

There’s no video of the lap just yet, but as with Nio’s last ‘Ring effort - itself record-breaking - we’re sure one will follow.

As for whether or not you can call the EP9 the fastest production car at the Nurburgring is - as ever with with these Nordschleife laps - open to debate. Only six were due to be made, with Nio announcing along with the ‘Ring news that 10 more will be built.

That stretches the term ‘production car’ a tad, but regardless, that’s one hell of a time.

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

OK that is almost the same as getting a Porsche 919 for Le Mans to do the same. In other words nice experiment.

So there’s this and the Glickenhaus a few artcles down both gunning for this record from 2 very different methods. Game on then.

These are SHOCKING results.

mY gTr WiLl SMoKe tHAT

I was predicting this before the world even existed.

[DELETED]

*6:47.5

this thing has a ridiculous amount of power, i hope it gets a good time like this it it would be sad

Not to be Debbie Dumpster Downer. But calling this a production car is a bit like calling that Glickenhaus SCG003 a production don’t you think?

Not trying to take away from the achievement or anything, just seriously wondering if this is a “production car” in the same way a LaFerrari, 918, P1 or ACR would be.