Another landmark in the technology and production of electric cars has just happened; the extremely attractive EP9 electric supercar, made by Chinese manufacturer NIO, has become the fastest electric car to complete a lap of the Nürburgring.
The NIO EP9 broke the Nürburgring Nordschleife record for road-legal electric cars with a 6min 45.9sec lap time on Friday 12th May this year. This now puts it slightly ahead of the Radical SR8 – and also the Lamborghini Huracan Performante by six seconds.
Check out the video; though you might find it hard to get used to hearing a vehicle going at this speed with an electric whine rather than the rumble of a V8!
The 2-seater EP9 (it costs around £1.4million – should you be wondering) has some pretty impressive credentials as it is, with a top speed of 194mph and 1342bhp. The supercar has been designed and built in conjunction with NIO’s Formula E racing division.
The supercar took 18 months to build and made its debut, curiously enough, at the Saatchi Gallery. Each of the all-wheel drive supercar’s wheels has its own transmission and motor, with 335.25hp per motor, with a battery that can last for 265 miles before requiring a 45-minute recharge.
The impressive 194mph is married to a 0-60mph of just 2.7 seconds. Ride height is controllable as part of the active suspension and the rear wing has a choice of 3 settings – Parked, Low-Drag and High-Downforce. Curb weight is 1,735kg.
The makers claim that the car can corner with a force of 2.5g and brake with 3.3g on its very own racing slick tyres.
The Nürburgring record isn’t the first fastest electric car lap time for the NIO EP9, as the car has already broken records at the Circuit Paul Ricard (1min 52.78sec), Circuit of the Americas (2min 11.30sec) and Shanghai International Circuit (2min 01.11sec).
NIO say their aspiration is to ‘shape a joyful lifestyle for our users’ and it would be pretty hard to argue that the NIO EP9 supercar wouldn’t be exactly just that for each owner.
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