The 10 Fastest Production Cars To Lap The Nürburgring

There's no bigger bragging right for a performance car manufacturer than waving around a Nürburgring record time. The ‘Green Hell’ is notorious for putting cars through pretty much every test imaginable across its daunting 12.9-mile lap, so to come out of it on top of your competitors is no small achievement.

It's why manufacturers will often stretch to find the most niche records. ‘Fastest electric four-door saloon’, ‘fastest front-driven hot hatch’, ‘fastest two-seat, red car on a Tuesday afternoon in Spring’, just to name a few we've (probably) seen in press releases.

Really, though, there's only one that truly matters - the fastest production car, bar none. These are the 10 to lap the ‘Ring in the quickest times.

10. Ford Mustang GTD -  6:52.072 

"WHAT THE F*** IS A KILOMETRE?" we hear you scream, as the Ford Mustang GTD kicks off the top 10 with some American thunder. 

Yes, it's a Mustang that's faster than a Porsche 911 GT3 on its home turf. Albeit one with 815bhp, carbon fibre bodywork and enough aerodynamics to alter gravity itself, not to mention an almighty £315k price tag. Thanks to the efforts of some old rivals from just across Detroit, though, it won't be the last freedom machine on this list...

9. Lamborghini Huracan Performante – 6:52.01

Lamborghini is hardly the first manufacturer you think of when it comes to blistering lap times – usually it’s more ‘how quickly can that influencer make a tit of themselves on Instagram Reels in one’ – but occasionally its creations will throw up a surprise.

Just ahead of unveiling the car in Geneva in 2016, the Italians showed the mind-boggling footage of the Performante’s lap. What a way to make an entrance.

8. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C8) – 6:50.763

Chevrolet Corvettes have always been forces to reckon with at the ’Ring, so it's little surprise that the C8 ZR1 – the first to go turbocharged, with a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 churning out a ridiculous 1064bhp – absolutely flew around the track.

Its 6:50.763 lap elevates the C8 to proper supercar status, and would comfortably be the fastest American car round the Nordschleife if it wasn't for...

7. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X (C8) – 6:49.275

...this. Yep, the ZR1 no longer sits at the top of the Corvette tree. The ZR1X is effectively the same car as its 'little' sibling, but with the electrified front axle borrowed from the hybrid Corvette E-Ray to bump power to an astonishing 1250bhp.

With its claimed sub-2.0-second 0-60mph time, it's no surprise it's made its way into the top 10. In fact, the biggest shock is perhaps that it only went half a second quicker than the non-hybrid ZR1. It'll take some unseating as the fastest American car, though.

6. 991.2 Porsche 911 GT2 RS – 6:47.25

The 991 GT3 RS used to be on this list before being bumped out of the top 10 by younger, faster machinery, so it stands with the mad turbocharged GT2 RS to defend the honour of the previous-gen 911. This one, though, is going to take a bit more beating. 

Lars Kern was released from the cryogenic freezer we presume Porsche keeps him in between ‘Ring record chases. With the same aero as the 3 RS, but simply more power courtesy of the 3.8-litre flat-six borrowed from the 911 Turbo and boosted to 691bhp, it’s really no shock it gapped the 3 by nearly 10 seconds.

5. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ - 6:44.97

Yes, there’s not one, but two Lamborghinis on this list. It’s also somewhat noteworthy as the only car with a V12 to break the top ten – there’s one for your next pub quiz.

Marco Mapelli was utilised for this mighty lap, as with the Huracan. Considering this is perhaps the car on this list least suited to the ‘Ring of them all, a fifth-place standing as of mid-2025 is very impressive. We look forward to seeing what the Revuelto can eventually manage.

4. 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – 6:44.848

As far as factory-fresh cars go, the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS might be the most ‘Ring-dedicated car we can possibly think of. 409kg of downforce at 124mph? A drag reduction system? Racing stripes? Yep, this is only built for one place.

Really, it’s a shame most will never see the asphalt of the Eiffel region, rather limited to being used as Instagrammable flex machines. At least we know just how good it can be…

3. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series – 6:43.616

We imagine this one is a particularly sore point for Porsche, actually. The Mercedes-AMG GT has never really managed to establish itself as a true 911 topper, but it does hold the ‘Ring bragging rights of cars as they come directly from the factory. That may spoil the next entry on the list.

Then again, is it really any surprise? The Black Series is about as close as we can imagine to a road-going GT3 car with its mind-boggling aero. It’s just a shame it didn’t deploy the naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 of those race cars.

2. 991 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (With Manthey Performance kit) – 6:38.835

This one is a little contentious as Manthey kits are on the face of it, an aftermarket upgrade. But technically, as they’re Porsche-approved and don’t affect the warranty, they’re considered an OEM package. Weird, but we don’t make the rules.

Manthey, if you’re not familiar, is a team that races at the ‘Ring and really knows its way around it, taking overall victory at the N24 seven times. Its near-£90k kit for the GT2 RS adds some utterly bonkers aero additions, reworked suspension and new brakes. It all clearly works too, going six seconds quicker than the standard car with no extra power. Crikey.

The racing team's latest creation will be the next big thing to keep an eye on. It's had its hands on the 992 GT3 RS at last, and we're expecting it to give the GT2 RS a serious run for its money.

1. Mercedes-AMG One – 6:29.090

It’s Mercedes-AMG that holds the crown at the ‘Ring currently, albeit this one isn’t really a surprise.

The AMG One is quite famous for borrowing its engine from Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning F1 cars, so that alone would be enough to put it in contention. Throw that in with some cutting-edge chassis and aero work and well, you end up with the only road car to go sub 6:30 around the ‘Ring. When it set this record in September 2024, it took the record from… itself by over five seconds.

Could anything topple its time? Probably not anytime soon. Although we'd be surprised if we don't see attempts from the McLaren W1 and Ferrari F80.