Porsche's 'Ring Lap Record Annihilation Proves Hybrid Has Won

Although the technology has been around in various forms for decades, winning hearts, minds and races, the total destruction of the Nurburgring lap record is arguably hybrid's most potent display to date
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It’s no secret that the automotive world is changing. Depending on who you talk to, the story is of grudging compliance or wide-eyed eco-ferver, with a hundred stops in between, but the industry-wide consensus is that electrification is unavoidable in the long term.

To those less willing to throw their arms wide and welcome this paradigm shift, hybrids have been, at best, no better than a petrol-powered equivalent and, at worst, a fundamental betrayal of the freedoms the car originally stood for. Slow, undesirable and uninspiring are the accusations from the ‘no thanks’ camp.

Until recently the lap record for the world’s most famous ex-grand prix circuit was held by a petrol car; a certain Porsche 956 C driven to within an inch of its life by the supremely, wildly talented Stefan Bellof. It was a record that had stood for so long that many people had begun to doubt that anyone would even try to beat it.

Only Porsche itself has had the guts – and the finances – to have a go at besting its own benchmark. The 919 Evo, a product of top-level motorsport but with no rules to restrict its performance, had been devouring lap times all over the place as part of a post-WEC hangover that turned performance records into the equivalent of the cold pizza at the back of the fridge.

The 919 Evo and the stunning 956 C whose record stood for 35 years
The 919 Evo and the stunning 956 C whose record stood for 35 years

With WEC dominated and all Porsche’s team goals achieved, the question was what came next. Stuttgart’s world-beating hybrid drivetrain couldn’t be allowed to fade into the background, so an anonymous PR genius at Porsche decided that the programme needed to go a little more… social.

There are plenty of car enthusiasts out there who never really followed the WEC during Porsche’s winning streak from 2015-2017, but who know all about the famous Green Hell, the legend of Bellof and about his 956 C. What better way to reach them; to post the new Porsche brand values in front of all the Internet-connected world, than to set a time so ridiculous that its creation would become an instant milestone in a million memories?

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The attempt on the ‘Ring record may have been inevitable after such impressive displays at the likes of Spa-Francorchamps, where it beat Lewis Hamilton’s track record. But the manner in which it was executed was brutal. It dragged Bellof’s 35-year-old record outside and shot it. Make no mistake, Porsche has made a very deliberate statement about its technology and about where it sees the future.

With such a barbaric destruction of a legendary lap record Porsche has finally killed the independent combustion engine. Already, its engineers are working on ways to electrify every one of its model lines in ways that boost performance, add value and ace the tougher new emissions tests in Europe. Hybrid is no longer that drab, restrictive, sluggish weapon of the anti-fun police. It’s a beast that can turn a turbocharged four-cylinder race car into the fastest thing around any major circuit in the world.

A whole new audience will now start to see petrol power as archaic; big V8s and V12s as unnecessary and backwards-thinking. Hybrid is now the king, whether it’s boxing to Queensberry rules in approved motorsport, or bare-knuckle brawling in the streets outside official competition.

From now on, kids who are feeding their new-found hunger for poster cars, looking at the fastest cars around the most dangerous circuit in the world, won’t see a legendary petrol car. They’ll see a legendary hybrid. The game has changed: hybrids will be even more desirable to future car buyers. Maybe it won’t feel like it to everyone yet, but the future has just taken a big step closer.

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Comments

TheMindGarage

No it doesn’t. To prove that hybrid is the best, we need a no-restrictions ICE car and a no-restrictions electric car to compare them to.

06/30/2018 - 16:21 |
10 | 0

Give Rimac enough money and no rules and boy

Boy, that would be insanely fast

06/30/2018 - 19:57 |
3 | 1
UnknownCat13

But what about the McLaren Senna?

06/30/2018 - 18:16 |
0 | 0
Chewbacca_buddy (McLaren squad)(VW GTI Clubsport)(McLaren 60

In reply to by UnknownCat13

If the Senna goes to the Nürburgring, it’s gonna take the production car record. The GT2RS has nothing on it. The Senna has more power, more downforce, grippier tires, and less weight

07/01/2018 - 02:48 |
4 | 0
Adam 24

what an absolute unit

06/30/2018 - 21:12 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

well, now porsche holds the records of:
fastest nurburgring lap
fastest spa francorchamps lap
most lemans 24h wins
most concecutive lemans 24h wins(tied with audi)

07/01/2018 - 07:59 |
2 | 0
MikeyFD3S

I’ve said it a few times, i’m all for hybrids when it comes to performance cars. The holy trinity, LMP1 cars etc. The P1 sold it for me. So much potential and that kick you get from the instant torque is immence. Brings out a massive smile when you have that acceleration coupled with a screaming engine with it!

07/01/2018 - 08:44 |
2 | 0
Fayyaz Ahmed(#JDM Squad)(#Stancenation)

DId I reply to your post?Or you replied to mine?And you the one deliberately trying to lead this to an arguement.Stop this or I’m calling a moderately

07/03/2018 - 12:30 |
0 | 0

Did i call you stupid and’retard’ or did you call me that? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
I haven’t personally attacked you once yet you still call me stupid and a’retard’ .

07/03/2018 - 14:26 |
0 | 0
Fayyaz Ahmed(#JDM Squad)(#Stancenation)

Who won it last season?Its just a point difference now btw and ferrari’s production cars are not as good as its competitors the 458 for example

07/03/2018 - 13:22 |
0 | 0

The 458 was praised as one of the best supercars ever . But sure whatever you want to believe.

07/03/2018 - 14:26 |
0 | 0
TheBagel

Hybrids? I’m fine with. As long as the main part is an ICE.

07/03/2018 - 21:27 |
0 | 0