For quite some time now, Toyota->ke88 has been chugging away at an electric racer, preparing it for what they hoped would be a record-breaking lap around the famous Nurburgring. After over a month of anxiously awaiting the specific date for the attempt, we now hear that the Toyota EV Racer has finished with a record time of 7:47.79 - smashing the previous record of 9:01.338 established by the Peugeot EX1 Concept back in May 2011. With this time, the Toyota EV Racer created by Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) can brag of being 30 seconds shy of times achieved by some great sports cars, like the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and Dodge Viper ACR.

The Toyota EV Racer is powered by a pair of electric motors sourced from Evo Electric that deliver a total of 375 HP and 590 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a single speed gearbox, the EV Racer will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and will hit a top speed of 161 mph. All this while also getting a range of 124 miles.

Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) Communications Officer, Alastair Moffitt, told MotorAuthority that much of the electric drivetrain powering Toyota's new prototype is based on knowledge gained in the development of the Kinectic Energy Recovery System (KERS) used in its original F1 cars. According to Moffitt, the project is a valuable chance to test high-performance electric powertrains in a real motorsport environment, giving TMG's engineer's a chance to learn more about cooling, battery performance, motor performance, durability, etc.

This is only the beginning folks. While Bugatti->ke16 focuses on SSC->ke1114 and Koenigsegg->ke43 as competitors for the world's fastest car, other automakers will be sliding in line to create bigger and faster electric vehicles. When these two worlds collide is anyone's guess.

Check out the video of the EV Racer's record breaking lap by clicking here!

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