Just because the Renault Mégane RS 275 Trophy-R holds the Nürburgring lap record for front-wheel drive production cars, it doesn’t mean it’s actually the fastest FWD car round the Green Hell.
That honor goes to a tuned Mini John Cooper Works prepared by German aftermarket specialists from Schirra Motoring, who tweaked the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine to produce 290PS (286hp) – 79PS more than the standard model.
The car is also fitted with a Drexler mechanical limited-slip differential and weighs just 1,005 kg (2,215 lbs), thanks to many lightweight components that shave 175 kg (385.8 lbs) off the production car’s weight.
The record lap was set on Dunlop Direzza 03G street-legal semi slicks by Sport Auto’s test driver Christian Gebhardt. The result? The Schirra Mini JCW GTS posted a lap time of 7 minutes and 44 seconds, shaving 10 seconds off the Renault’s time.
Sure, the Mégane RS 275 Trophy-R gets to keep its record for the time being as the Mini is not a production car, but the Mini’s achievement is really impressive. It’s just as fast as a production Pagani Zonda S (7:44) and quicker than the Audi R8 V10 Plus (7:45), the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (7:46), the current BMW M4 (7:52) and Lotus Exige S (7:53), among other models.
Scroll down to watch the scary onboard lap.
Story references & opening image: Sport Auto