Porsche 919 Evo Demolishes Nordschleife Record

The Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo has broken the outright lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a time of 5:19.55.

Timo Bernhard’s run in the highly modified version of the manufacturer’s Le Mans-winning LMP1 racer obliterated the previous best of 6:11.13, set by Stefan Bellof in qualifying for the 1983 Nurburgring 1000km.

The 1160-horsepower Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo was recently spotted on a sighter run at the 12.94-mile Nordschleife in preparation for its crack at the long-standing record on Friday morning.

With a heavily upgraded aerodynamics package creating 53 percent more downforce than its LMP1 forebear, the car’s stated purpose is “to show the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s abilities when we ease the restrictions that came from the FIA World Endurance Championship regulations.”

It is also able to run with an unrestricted hybrid system that provides the driver with a 10 percent electric power increase, plus an upscaled version of the V4 petrol engine that accounts for around 720 hp.

Porsche’s historic Nordschleife run comes after the 919 Hybrid Evo smashed the lap record at Spa-Francorchamps in April with Neel Jani at the controls.

Further public outings are scheduled as part of the ‘919 Tribute’ tour of honoring the car that claimed three consecutive FIA World Endurance Championship titles.

It will appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month, followed by trips to the Brands Hatch Festival of Porsche and the Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca in September.