Audi R8 e-tron Sets “World-Record” Lap Time at the Nürburgring

Audi took the R8 e-tron electric supercar to the Nürburgring and all it got was a lousy lap record, circuiting the Green Hell in 8 minutes, 9 seconds. Impressive, right? The time is for sure, but the record maybe not so much: It’s claimed for production EVs, a thin group that seemingly includes, well, just the e-tron.
Audi’s silent-running supercar packs a total of 376 hp and 605 lb-ft from its two electric motors, and the company claims it can hit 60 mph in roughly 4.5 seconds. The lithium-ion battery pack stores a whopping 49 kWh of juice—a Nissan Leaf packs 24 kWh and is actually a little longer than a standard R8—good enough, Audi says, for a maximum range of more than 130 miles. We’re thinking that a hard lap of the ’Ring cuts pretty seriously into that figure, though.
Audi’s wheelman was Markus Winkelhock, whose time bested the 9:51 posted by a race-prepped Mini E called the, er, E-Race, as well as the 9:01 turned in by Peugeot’s wicked EX1 concept car. The e-tron is not, however, the fastest vehicle with full-electric drive, as the TMG EV P001—a race car built by Toyota Motorsport GmbH—lapped the fabled track in 7 minutes, 47 second
* Comparison Test: Aston V12 Vantage vs. Audi R8 5.2, Ferrari 458 Italia, Mercedes SLS AMG, Porsche 911 Turbo S
* Prototype Drive: Audi e-tron Spyder
* Prototype Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell
As German automaker code dictates, this aggression into new territory surely will not stand: We have to imagine that Mercedes is prepping its SLS AMG E-Cell for a go at the production EV lap record.
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