Nio records world-beating Nurburgring lap

CHINESE electric vehicle-maker Nio’s EP9 has claimed the fastest production car lap record at Germany’s Nurburgring circuit with a blistering time of 6:45.9, which is 6.11 seconds faster than the previous record-holding Lamborghini Huracan LP640-4 Performante.

The landmark lap time is also 19.22s faster than the EP9’s previous record attempt in 2016 and places Nio clearly in front of its combustion engine rivals including the Nissan GT-R Nismo, Mercedes-AMG GT R, Porsche 911 GT3, Lexus LFA, Ferrari 488 GTB and Chevrolet Corvette.

Nio performance program head and team principal Gerry Hughes called the record lap a “fabulous achievement for Nio” and congratulated the team – including driver Peter Dumbreck – for their efforts.

Underpinning the EP9’s scorching pace are four electric motors mated to four transmission systems – a pair for each of the wheels – generating a combined total output of 1000kW.

The all-wheel-drive hypercar is constructed exclusively with carbon-fibre to save weight – including throughout the chassis and all the bodywork – to top the scales at 1735kg, 635kgs of which belong to the battery system.

According to Nio, “with an interchangeable battery system, the EP9 is designed to be charged in 45 minutes and has a range of 265 miles (426 kilometres)”.

Nio claims the EP9 can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 2.7 seconds and hit 200km/h from a standstill in 7.1s, meaning that in the time it takes a Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and Mazda MX-5 to hit the landmark triple digits, the Chinese EV will be doing twice the speed.

While not the fastest accelerating EV on the market, the title still belongs to Tesla’s Model S P100D super sedan with a 0-100km/h time of around 2.5 seconds with Ludacris mode and an over-the-air update, the EP9 is still able to out-muscle almost all of the established supercar players.

Top speed is clocked at 313km/h, while the aggressive body styling – including a massive rear wing, low slung side skirts, prominent rear diffuser and wide front splitter – can generate 24,000 newtons of downforce at 240km/h, enough for three lateral Gs of force.

Six EP9s have been produced so far for company investors, but Nio has just announced an additional 10 will be manufactured and sold to the public for $US1.48 million ($A1.99 million) each.

Last month the Chinese brand also revealed its Tesla Model X-rivalling ES8 all-electric SUV at the Shanghai motor show, while in March Nio it announced the EVE autonomous vehicle concept.

In February, 2017, Nio also nabbed the world record for the fastest autonomous car in the world as its EP9 lapped the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas with a time of 2:40.33 and hit a top speed of 257km/h without a driver.

Nio CEO Padmasree Warrior said snatching world records in the EP9 is no accident, adding that the brand wants to declare its intentions as a serious automotive contender.

“Setting and breaking records with our EP9 is for the sole purpose to show the world that we have the automotive and technical expertise to succeed in the global automotive market,” he said.

“Our vision is to be the best of the next generation of car companies by producing the smartest vehicles in the world.”