Hennessey Special Vehicles, the Texas-based hypercar manufacturer, has set a new road car lap record at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) with a blistering 2:10.90 lap of the 3.41-mile-long racetrack.
Breaking the previous COTA road car lap record* by 0.43 seconds makes the track-focused Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution the fastest ever road-going hypercar around the Texan circuit. The flying lap surpassed the 2:11.33 time, recorded by a Czinger C21, plus outpaced the previous McLaren P1 record (2:17.12) by almost seven seconds. During the record-breaking run on March 11, ‘America’s Hypercar’ also hit exceptional speeds on the 1,016 meter-long back straight, achieving 193.10 mph.
*The previous COTA production car lap record was set by a Czinger 21C of 2:11.33 on September 23, 2023. The previous lap record was 2:17.12, set by a McLaren P1.
BAC Mono R Sets Production Car Record at Red Bull Ring
The limited-edition BAC Mono R supercar has scooped yet another high-profile production car lap record, having hit the top of the leaderboard at the famous Red Bull Ring, Austria.
With British racing driver Adam Christodoulou in the cockpit, R averaged a remarkable 122mph to lap the 2.7-mile circuit in just 1:32.96 – setting an astonishing new bar by almost six seconds.
The Red Bull Ring production car lap record was previously held by the Ferrari LaFerrai with German racing driver Hubert Haupt at the wheel, posting an impressive 1:38.95.
R’s performance is made even more phenomenal by the Austrian Grand Prix track being very much a power circuit, with frequent elevation changes and higher altitudes acting against the naturally aspirated supercar.
However, the 343bhp, 555kg R more than lived up to its billing as the ultimate driver’s vehicle and race car for the road with its record lap coming on road-legal Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires.
R was on location at the Red Bull Ring as part of the Pirelli P Zero Experience Central Europe, as supercar enthusiasts from across the region gathered to enjoy an unforgettable track and social experience.
Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale Sets Road Car Record At Fiorano
The fastest ever lap of Fiorano by a road car was announced today. Set by the 1030-cv SF90 XX Stradale, the new limited-series special based on the SF90 Stradale, the time of just 1’17.309” represents a new record for homologated road cars. Driven by Raffaele de Simone, Ferrari Head of Development Test Driving, and equipped with lightweight carbon-fiber wheels and Michelin Cup2R tires, the time was 1.4” faster than that set by the original car equipped with the Assetto Fiorano package and the same tires.
The SF90 XX Stradale will be on display at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello from 15 December, together with an exhibition corner containing information and insights into the car and the record.
Porsche upped the ante on its own Road America production car track record. A lap in the Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS bettered the established record set in a 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. The record shattering lap was set by Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America veteran Dimitri Dimakos on the freshly paved “Nürburgring Nordschleife of North America”.
Dimakos, a veteran of the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America, lapped the four mile, 14 turn road course in a time of two-minutes, 13.8 seconds. Conditions were near perfect, with an air temperature hovering around 75 degrees and a track temperature just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The lap on the freshly paved classic American race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin bettered the previous record (2:15.1). The previous lap, set by David Donohue in a 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS in April, 2019, was improved upon by nearly two seconds. The feat is especially remarkable considering the huge horsepower difference between the 700-hp prior record holder, and the 518-hp 911 GT3 RS.
New Panamera Sets Record on Nürburgring Nordschleife
Last Friday, Porsche test driver Lars Kern set a new best time of 7:24.17 minutes for luxury class cars with combustion engines and hybrids, in the future top model of the Panamera series.
Lars Kern had already set class records on the Nordschleife in 2016 and 2020 in the Panamera, most recently in the Panamera Turbo S (7:29.81 minutes).
The new Panamera’s lap time, over five seconds quicker than the previous model, underlines the consistent further development of the four-door sports car. Its electrically supported eight-cylinder combustion engine enables impressive driving performance, but this is not the only reason for the improved lap time.
Czinger, the trailblazing company that uses revolutionary design and manufacturing technologies to build state-of-the-art, homologated high-performance vehicles, has set a new lap record at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway, smashing the old record by an astonishing two seconds!
On July 21 at 7:43pm PT, the Czinger 21C Hypercar, with driver Joel Miller behind the wheel, set the record in a multi-GPS verified time of 1:25:44. The previous track record was held by the McLaren Senna, with driver Randy Pobst setting a time of 1:27.62.
Under ideal conditions – the weather was clear, with a wind direction of about nine mph NW and an air temperature of 60 degrees – the Czinger vehicle also broke the previous record on two other laps, with times of 1:27:4 and 1:26:6.
The car, which ran on fully road legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2R tires, was designed, manufactured and assembled in Los Angeles.
Czinger will showcase the record-setting 21C at the company's private Pebble Beach home during Monterey Car Week, August 12-16th.
With a time of 7 mins 40.748 secs, the new Audi RS 3 Saloon with racing and development driver Frank Stippler at the wheel beat the lap record for the compact class on the Nürburgring Nordschleife by 4.64 seconds. Above all, the torque splitter, with its fully variable torque distribution on the rear axle, contributed to the record time - Vorsprung durch Technik.
“I’m proud of the whole team. Everyone worked hard for this day,” said Audi RS 3 Technical Project Leader Marvin Schwätter when the record time appeared on the board. “When we started development, we didn’t know just how quickly our compact sportscar would really be on the Nordschleife,” he explained. “But over the course of endurance testing, we determined that we could reach very good times and set a new record.”
Before the record-setting lap, Frank Stippler's team only adjusted the tire pressure in the Pirelli P Zero “Trofeo R” semi-slicks to the track conditions. “We don’t have unlimited opportunities to try for a record like this,” said Stippler. “That’s why a little is always necessary on the day when it matters – particularly with respect to tire pressure, because that also affects how the torque splitter functions. We succeeded. It was a triumphant day all around”
Vorsprung durch Technik: The setup for the best time
The basis for the record is the interplay of top technologies. For the first time ever, a torque splitter is being used in an Audi model. It distributes torque fully adjustably between the rear wheels – controlled via a multiple disc clutch on each of the drive shafts. During dynamic driving, it increases the drive torque to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load. This means that on right turns, there is more torque on the left rear wheel and the opposite on left turns. The RS 3 therefore turns into the curve even better and follows the steering angle more precisely. “In general, the new RS 3 is much more agile when driving from the middle of the curve to its end and when accelerating out of the curve,” said Frank Stippler.
“For me, the torque splitter is a quantum leap in terms of agile driving.” That is particularly apparent in combination with the newly developed RS Performance driving mode, which, with its own engine and transmission characteristics, is specially calibrated for the racetrack. There, the torque splitter ensures the most neutral handling possible with little oversteering or understeering in different driving situations. This makes early acceleration possible upon exiting a curve, enabling faster lap times.
The setup is completed by the Pirelli P Zero “Trofeo R” semi-slick tires, which are now optional* for the first time, the 19-inch ceramic braking system in the front, and the RS sport suspension plus with adaptive damper control. It individually and continuously adjusts each shock absorber to the road conditions, the driving situation, and the mode selected in Audi drive select. RS Performance mode is equipped with two setups for different racetracks – one is adjusted for comfort on uneven tracks like the Nordschleife, where minimizing vertical excitation while maintaining high lateral dynamics matters, and the other is a sporty setup for even racetracks like the Hockenheimring. With its ceramic braking system and adaptive suspension, the legendary five-cylinder high-performance engine in the RS 3 delivers a maximum speed of 290 km/h (180.2 mph) – the highest in its segment. The RS 3 is also the best in its class with acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 3.8 seconds.
Market launch and pricing
The Audi RS 3 Sportback and RS 3 Saloon are available from mid-August in the UK. The base price for the Audi RS 3 Sportback is set at £50,900, while the Audi RS 3 Saloon is listed at £51,900. Full UK pricing and specifications will be announced at market launch.
Porsche Panamera Sets Executive Car Nürburgring Record
Strap in for 7:29.81 minutes of record-breaking driving.
Join Lars Kern as he seamlessly navigates around the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife in the new, slightly camouflaged Panamera, successfully setting the world lap record within the 'executive cars' category.
