Chinese electric car NIO EP9 breaks Nürburgring lap record

The lap record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife has been broken by an electric car; the NIO EP9. The Chinese supercar previously set a record for electric cars, but now it is also faster than conventionally powered cars.

A driver managed to complete a 20.8 kilometer lap of the ‘green hell’ with the NIO EP9 in 6 minutes and just under 46 seconds. That is more than 19 seconds faster than what was previously achieved with the same car. That lap time of just over 7 minutes was good enough to be the fastest electric car.

The newly established lap record applies to production cars that are also allowed to drive on public roads. The NIO EP9 is actually made, but in a very limited edition. Six copies have been made for investors of the company and another ten can be ordered for 1.4 million euros.

The EP9 has a carbon fiber chassis and body and is equipped with four engines that together can deliver a megawatt of power, which is equivalent to 1360 hp. That is good for an acceleration from 0 to 200 km/h in 7.1 seconds and a top speed of 313 km/h. The battery can be fully charged in 45 minutes and the range is up to 427 kilometers according to NIO. The car also has technology for autonomous driving on board. The EP9 thus set the fastest time for self-driving cars on the Circuit of the Americas.

The Chinese car manufacturer NIO is part of the start-up NextEV. The company plans to mass-produce an electric SUV this year. That model, the ES8, was unveiled at a car show in April. NextEV also has a team that competes in Formula E.