8.31.2009

VIDEO // RADICAL SR8LM RUNS 6:48 LAP @ THE RING

Having upgraded their 360bhp SR8, a car that set the record for fastest production vehicle around the Nurburgring nearly four years ago, the gentlemen at Radical returned to Eiffel late last week looking to break their own record.

Powered by a modified Suzuki Hayabusa motor good for 455bhp, Radical's newly introduced SR8LM managed a blistering 6:48 lap of the Nurburgring. The SR8LM's lap, a solid eight seconds faster than Radical's previous record, was verified by Germany's Sport Auto and England's Evo magazines. Follow the link for the complete press release as well as on-board footage from Radical's record breaking lap... [read more]


PRESS RELEASE

Radical Smash Nordschleife Lap Record

Peterborough sportscar manufacturer Radical Sportscars has smashed the Nürburgring production car lap record, with driver Michael Vergers posting a committed 6m48s lap time. The road-legal SR8LM smashed the previous record, also held by Radical since 2005, by an incredible eight seconds. All this, less than 24 hours after the car was driven from England to Germany for the record.

German motoring magazine Sport Auto oversaw the attempt, with the UK's evo magazine confirming the time, which will be officially finalised tomorrow (Thursday).

Conditions for the record were perfect, with clear skies and temperatures in the high 20s. Vergers initially battled with the Nordschleife's fearsome kerbs, jumps and bumps, but soon found the ideal setup, inspiring confidence to push harder.

"The car was great, I could push really hard and it felt clearly faster than the previous SR8 in 2005," said Vergers. "It's fantastic that we've beaten the record; hopefully I'll get an opportunity to return with Radical in the future."

Radical co-founder Mick Hyde said: "I'm obviously delighted, the record has been a real team effort headed up by Phil Abbott and Rob Wheldon. Dunlop have supplied us with brilliant, hard-wearing trackday tyres, indeed we've only used one set to both drive to the 'Ring, and set the record.

"We've proved that the SR8LM is not only the world's best trackday car, but it's also practical enough to drive to and from the circuit. It is a genuine production sportscar, with genuine performance credentials, as we've shown today."

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4 comments:

  1. RobertAugust 31, 2009 5:10 PM

    6:48? Isn't that approaching the all-time record? Didn't a 917 or 935 set a low six-minute lap in the '70s?

    Regardless, that's an amazing time. Radical isn't fooling anyone with the "street legal production car" moniker (it's clearly a racecar, but Britons are bonkers enough to allow license plates on anything, including tanks), but that is an incredible time for a turn-key, "store bought" racecar.

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  2. Luke (Race Supplies Sydney)September 01, 2009 2:53 AM

    Hey Robert,

    You're thinking of the Porsche 956 driven by Stefan Bellof in 1983.

    The time was a 6:11.13

    It will be quite some time before *anyone* will touch that lap!

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 01, 2009 8:30 AM

    Are you sure this is the record setting lap? It appears similar to the video Autoblog posted last week which wasn't the record lap at all. In fact you can clearly see edits in the video as well as the driver bobbling on the very first turn.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RobertSeptember 01, 2009 3:23 PM

    Thanks Luke! That's the lap I'm thinking of, and yes, it is truly incredible! Even as might as 6:48 is, it's still a half-minute off of the record. Yikes!

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