When Trump was elected president of the U.S., I had a bit of a shock when I woke up to the news the next morning. And, Lamborghini setting a new production car record on the 'Ring is of similar magnitude. Because the upcoming Huracan Performante not only lapped the "Green Hell" quicker than the Porsche 918 Spyder, a high-profile supercar, it did so no fewer than five seconds faster.

Specifically, the Huracan Performance needed only 6:52.01 minutes to go around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, smashing the 918 Spyder's 6:57-minute from 2013. Although the record was announced on March 1, 2017, the run actually took place on October 5, 2016 with Lamborghini test driver Marco Mapelli.

“This was an incredible and emotional moment,” says company CEO Stefano Domenicali. “Together with Maurizio Reggiani we agreed during the car’s development that with the technical and performance prowess of the Huracán Performante, not only was a sub seven-minute lap at the Nordschleife possible, but the lap record too. We wanted to achieve the Nurburgring victory in advance of the Performante’s launch, which was a challenge in terms of weather and availability of the Nordschleife. Not only did we take the lap record, we took it by some seconds!"

Making Lambo's run that more spectacular is the fact that the Huracan Performance was quicker than the Radical SR8, which lapped the 'Ring in 6:56.08 minutes. Although the SR8 isn't exactly a production model, its lap is often listed together with production models, as is the Radical SR8LM's incredible benchmark of 6:48 minutes. The Huracan Performance is the first Lamborghini to outrun a Radical since 2005!

Since the Huracan Performante won't be unveiled until the Geneva Motor Show next week, we don't know much about what makes it so quick. However, Lambo did say that the record was established through innovative aerodynamics, lightweight engineering, a revised engine, and a dedicated setup for track performance. Stay tuned for updates from Geneva.

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Why it Matters

This is a fantastic achievement not only for Lamborghini, but for the entire performance car industry. The fact that the Huracan Performante lapped the 'Ring so quickly proves that you don't need an 800+ horsepower engine to run the German track in less than seven minutes. Granted, we don't know the exact output of the V-10 inside the car, but it's safe to assume that it doesn't exceed 700 horsepower. By comparison, the 918 Spyder has 875 horses. Having a lightweight architecture and clever aerodynamics is significantly more important than sending a ridiculous amount of horsepower to the wheels. Lambo's new record confirms just that and it's fantastic!

Top 10 Fastest Cars Around Nurburgring

Radical SR8 LM

6:48

Lamborghini Huracan Performante

6:52.01

Radical SR8

6:55

Porsche 918 Spyder

6:57

Lamborghini Aventador SV

6:59.73

Nissan GT-R Nismo

7:08.68

Mercedes-AMG GT R

7:10.92

McLaren F1 Promotional XP5 prototype

7:11

Gumpert Apollo Sport

7:11.57

Dodge Viper ACR

7:12:13


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