Ford has reclaimed the record for the fastest American car around the Nürburgring, with the GT MkIV track-only prototype becoming the third-quickest time overall at the Nordschleife on the books.
With a rapid time of six minutes and 15.98 seconds, Frédéric Vervisch piloted the exclusive Ford GT into the record books, being slower than only the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo LMP1-based prototype, and the Volkswagen ID.R EV around the 20.832km circuit.
The lap also came within five seconds of Stefan Bellof’s six minute and 11.13-second lap, which was long the record set back in 1983 behind the wheel of a Porsche 956 Group C race car, though isn’t included in the current official Nordschleife records.
It was also 14 seconds faster than the Mercedes-AMG One, which remains the fastest road-legal production car to lap the Nürburgring with a time of six minutes and 29.09 seconds, aided by its F1-derived engine.
For Ford, the brand is still happy to claim the record “as the fastest American OEM around the Nürburgring”, even if it isn’t able to do so for a production car.
Powered by a Roush-Yates Engines-developed twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6, the GT MkIV produces in excess of 610kW, and drives the rear wheels through a six-speed paddle-operated sequential transmission.
Only 67 examples of the Ford GT MkIV are being made, commemorating the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans victory for the GT40 MkIV.
Its aerodynamic bodywork can create more than 1000kg of downforce at 250km/h, while its sticky Michelin slick tyres mean it can generate 3g while cornering, making it even faster than the Ford GT LME car which won its class at Le Mans in 2016.
Ford still holds the record for the fastest American production car at the Nürburgring with its Mustang GTD, setting a time of six minutes and 52.072 seconds.
Though the Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X subsequently beat it, they were not classified in the sports cars category as they’re not sold in Europe, unlike the Mustang GTD.
Discussion about this post