There’s no bigger bragging right for a performance car manufacturer than waving around a Nürburgring record time. The ‘Green Hell’ is notorious for putting cars through pretty much every test imaginable across its daunting 12.9-mile lap, so to come out of it on top of your competitors is no small achievement.
It’s why manufacturers will often stretch to find the nichest records. ‘Fastest electric four-door saloon’, ‘fastest front-driven hot hatch’, ‘fastest two-seat, red car on a Tuesday afternoon in Spring’ just to name a few we’ve (probably) seen in press releases.
Really, though, there’s only one that truly matters – the fastest production car, bar none. These are the 10 to lap the ‘Ring in the quickest times.
10. Porsche 918 Spyder – 6:57
It may be coming up to 12 years since the Porsche 918 Spyder went into production, and nine since it left, but the old beast is still clinging on to the top 10 ‘Ring times. When it set its lap at the hands of N24 winner Marc Lieb in 2013, it took the official title of the fastest production car to lap the ‘Ring.
There’s never been an official lap time for the LaFerrari published, while McLaren has only ever stated the P1 managed it in ‘under seven minutes’ which felt like a subtle way of saying ‘it went slower’. So, the 918 will forever have the bragging rights of the holy trinity.
9. 991.2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – 6:56.4
991.2 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Nürburgring
We hope you didn’t think the Porsche 918 Spyder was the only car from Stuttgart to make this list, because quite frankly, we’re only just getting started.
The GT3 RS is pretty much built exclusively as a ‘Ring weapon, but it’s still deeply impressive the 991.2 3 RS was able to go six-tenths quicker over the 12.9-mile stretch than the company’s halo car of the decade, even if it was set five years later.
8. 992 Porsche 911 GT3 – 6:55.34
More impressive still is that the following GT3 would go on to outpace the outgoing GT3 RS.
Set in 2020 with Lars Kern at the helm (get used to reading his name), the 992 was able to go a whole second faster than the 991.2 3 RS despite being relatively compromised on aero and with its 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six matched for power.
7. Lamborghini Huracan Performante – 6:52.01
Finally, something not German on this list. Oh, but funded by the Germans…
Lamborghini is hardly the first manufacturer you think of when it comes to blistering lap times – usually it’s more ‘how quickly can that influencer make a tit of themselves on Instagram Reels in one’ – but occasionally its creations will throw up a surprise.
Just ahead of unveiling the car in Geneva in 2016, the Italians showed the mind-boggling footage of the Performante’s lap. What a way to make an entrance.
6. 991.2 Porsche 911 GT2 RS – 6:47.25
Porsche 911 GT2 RS Nurburgring
If the 991.2 GT3 RS being on this list wasn’t an indicator that the GT2 RS would be on here, we don’t know what else to tell you. Once again, Lars Kern was released from the cryogenic freezer we presume Porsche keeps him in between ‘Ring record chases.
With the same aero as the 3 RS, but simply more power courtesy of the 3.8-litre flat-six borrowed from the 911 Turbo and boosted to 691bhp, it’s really no shock it gapped the 3 by nearly 10 seconds.
5. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ – 6:44.97
Yes, there’s not one, but two Lamborghinis on this list. It’s also somewhat noteworthy as the only car with a V12 to break the top ten – there’s one for your next pub quiz.
Marco Mapelli was utilised for this mighty lap, as with the Huracan. Considering this is perhaps the car on this list least suited to the ‘Ring of them all, a fifth-place standing as of late 2024 is very impressive. We look forward to seeing what the Revuelto can eventually manage.
4. 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – 6:44.848
As far as factory-fresh cars go, the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS might be the most ‘Ring-dedicated car we can possibly think of. 409kg of downforce at 124mph? A drag reduction system? Racing stripes? Yep, this is only built for one place.
Really, it’s a shame most will never see the asphalt of the Eiffel region, rather limited to being used as Instagrammable flex machines. At least we know just how good it can be…
3. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series – 6:43.616
Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, Nurburgring
We imagine this one is a particularly sore point for Porsche, actually. The Mercedes-AMG GT has never really managed to establish itself as a true 911 topper, but it does hold the ‘Ring bragging rights of cars as they come directly from the factory. That may spoil the next entry on the list.
Then again, is it really any surprise? The Black Series is about as close as we can imagine to a road-going GT3 car with its mind-boggling aero. It’s just a shame it didn’t deploy the naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 of those race cars.
2. 991 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (With Manthey Performance kit) – 6:38.835
This one is a little contentious as Manthey kits are on the face of it, an aftermarket upgrade. But technically, as they’re Porsche-approved and don’t affect the warranty, they’re considered an OEM package. Weird, but we don’t make the rules.
Manthey, if you’re not familiar, is a team that races at the ‘Ring and really knows its way around it, taking overall victory at the N24 seven times. Its near-£90k kit for the GT2 RS adds some utterly bonkers aero additions, reworked suspension and new brakes. It all clearly works too, going six seconds quicker than the standard car with no extra power. Crikey.
The racing team’s latest creation will be the next big thing to keep an eye on. It’s had its hands on the 992 GT3 RS at last, and we’re expecting it to give the GT2 RS a serious run for its money.
1. Mercedes-AMG One – 6:29.090
It’s Mercedes-AMG that holds the crown at the ‘Ring currently, albeit this one isn’t really a surprise.
The AMG One is quite famous for borrowing its engine from Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning F1 cars, so that alone would be enough to put it in contention. Throw that in with some cutting-edge chassis and aero work and well, you end up with the only road car to go sub 6:30 around the ‘Ring. When it set this record in September 2024, it took the record from… itself by over five seconds.
Could anything topple its time? Probably not anytime soon. Although we’d be surprised if we don’t see attempts from the McLaren W1 and Ferrari F80.
