Toyota has set a new electric vehicle lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Driving a modified Radical, dubbed the EV P001, Jochen Krumbach completed the 20.8 km (12.9 mile) long course in 7 minutes and 47.794 seconds which buried the previous record of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds that was set by the Peugeot EX1 concept. According to Rob Leupen, Toyota Motorsport's Director of Business Operations, "This is a very impressive achievement which really shows the huge potential for electric powertrains to deliver fast, exciting action on the race track. There's no doubt that electric motorsport can be every bit as thrilling as traditional racing and it was an amazing sensation to watch the TMG electric vehicle fly past on the Nordschleife, with only the sound of wind rushing past and tires squealing." As we have previously reported, the P001 features a 41.5 kWh lithium-ceramic battery which powers two electric motors that develop 381 PS (280 kW / 375 hp) and 800 Nm (590 Nm) of torque. This setup enables the 970 kg (2,138 lb) car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph).
