Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo Sets All-Time Nurburgring Lap Record at 5:19.55

Destroying the previous record of 6:11.13 that stood for 35 years, Timo Bernhard lapped the Nurburgring in just 5:19.55 behind the wheel of a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo Le Mans car. The previous record was held by Stefan Bellof and a Porsche 956 C.

This new lap time is a huge landmark for having broken such a long-standing record at the world-famous track. Timo Bernhard was the man for the job being a five-time winner of the Nurburgring 24-hours and two-time winner of Le Mans 24-hours with plenty of experience with the Porsche 919.

“This is a great moment for me and for the entire team—the 919 programme’s icing on the cake. The Evo was perfectly prepared and I have done my best on this lap. Thanks to the aerodynamic downforce, at sections I never imagined you can stay on full throttle. I’m pretty familiar with the Nordschleife. But today I got to learn it in a new way,” said the 37-year-old endurance racing veteran.

The Porsche 919 Evo that accomplished this incredible time is a modified version of the 919 race car that won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Since it’s just being used to go around breaking lap records (including Spa earlier this year), it no longer needs to meet FIA regulations and it’s been modified to just be as fast as possible. The result is total horsepower from the hybrid drivetrain being turned up to 1160 and a 50 percent increase in downforce. The Evo weighs 1,871 pounds, reached a top speed of 229.5 mph at the ‘Ring with the record-setting lap having an average speed of 145.3 mph.

Watch the incredible onboard video below.