918 Spyder

Make
Porsche
Segment
Compact

Automakers are constantly vying for Nurburgring lap records in various categories. The outright lap record, though, belongs to Porsche, and has for 35 years. But it looks like it could be out to beat its own record. Just last month, Porsche brought its unbridled 919 Evo prototype to the Nordschleife for a demonstration run alongside a 956 Group C racer. Unfortunately it didn't drop the hammer, instead restricting itself to a parade lap. But now it's back, and it looks like it's going for it.

The 919 Evo is based on the hybrid Le Mans prototype with which Porsche won both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans three years running. Unbound of any race restrictions, the 919 Evo took the lap record at Spa-Francorchamps, where it beat the times set even by the latest F1 cars just a couple of months ago.

The video above shows the 919 running at what would appear to be all-out pace. If Porsche is indeed aiming to set a new outright lap record, it would have to come in under 6:11.13. That's the time that Stefan Bellof set in the 956 while qualifying for the thousand-kilometer race back in 1983 – a record that has remained unbroken ever since.

It's also a good 36 seconds faster than Porsche managed to hustle the 911 GT2 RS around the track just last year, when it set the production-car record. The automaker holds three of the top five slots on that leader board, with sister-company Lamborghini filling the other two. Porsche also owns the race record at 6:25.91, set by Bellof in the 956 at the same event where he set the qualifying (and outright) record the day before at 6:11.13. If Porsche does indeed beat its own record, it would also kick the McLaren P1 LM (at 6:43.22 last year) off the top of the sheet for experimental prototypes that are neither road-legal nor race-certified. We'll have to wait to see how this shakes out, but consider us suitably intrigued.