This day will go down in history as a moment of engineering marvel, as Porsche spent the last 35 years chasing down a record they set back in 1983. Stephan Bellof previously set a record time of 6:11.13 around the Nordschleife, and the pursuit of speed had them chasing him until now. Timo Bernhard took an unrestricted Porsche 919 Hybrid for a breathtaking lap on the 29 June of 2018 in just 5:19.546, an unbelievable 51 seconds faster, reaching a top speed of 369kph in the last straight stretch of course.
This record will likely remain standing for many years to come, but it will be amazing to watch every future attempt at chasing the 919 Hybrid.
The Porsche 919 Hybrid was revealed to the public five years ago, a year after development had begun. Initially the 919 Hybrid had a difficult time competing, but by it's second competitive year in 2015, the car had been nearly completely rebuilt and begun showing it's potential, leading to a stunning successful season. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0L V4 engine paired with a Hybrid battery setup, the 919 Hybrid produces a combined 1,160hp. Weighing in at only 1,871lbs, the 919 Hybrid sports not just incredible power, but incredibly low weight to become a perfect recipe for speed. The newly set lap time record is among the last coming from the 919 Hybrid, as it will be discontinued, as Porsche begins to set their eyes on Formula E.