Toyota targets Nurburgring EV record

Toyota is lining up for a crack at the Nurburgring lap record on August 29. But rather than targeting the outright benchmark with a Supra revival or Lexus LF-A, it’s aiming to set a new milestone for electric vehicles.

The attempt is being spearheaded by Germany-based Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), which has developed a high-performance electric powertrain that’s slotted into a modified Radical chassis – a combo that’s claimed to be good for a 260km/h top whack and 0-100km/h split of 3.9sec.

The car’s challenge when it whirrs into action at the Nordschleife on August 29 will be to better the existing EV lap record of 9min 1.338secs set in May this year by the Peugeot EX1.

Toyota claims it’s already eclipsed this time during unofficial testing and company labcoats are confident the car will make a significant improvement during the official timed laps

“We are extremely confident we can break the record by some distance, which is an indication of how EV performance is continuously improving,” said TMG’s director of business operations, Rob Leupen.

Why has Toyota invested in the exercise?

In the company’s words: “We want to show the world how far this [EV] technology has developed. Our mission is to advance this technology, not only in motorsport but in the automotive sector in general, to deliver products with more performance and better durability for our customers.

“Our aim is to prove that green-thinking motorsport can generate emotion among fans by using innovative technology to deliver high performance.” TMG stated.

Toyota’s press release goes on to add that the battery-powered tearaway is ideal for a single-make EV championship and TMG claims the car’s propulsion comes from a “very robust and reliable electric powertrain, which has been proven in several products already”.