In the latest attempt for the crowdfunded Dodge Viper ACR to set a Nurburgring production car lap record, the supercar has fallen just short of breaking the 7-minute barrier.
In July, the U.S. team headed to the circuit with Kumho’s support and looking to better the times of the Porsche 918 Spyder and Lamborghini Huracan Performante. Their best time was a blistering 7 minutes 3.45 seconds.
Returning to the circuit just a couple of days ago with pro-racers Dominik and Mario Farnbacher, their latest attempt resulted in a best lap of 7:03.23, just a couple tenths faster.
Speaking to Road&Track about the result, the team said exceptionally hot conditions at the circuit hampered any chance of setting a record. As a matter of fact, track temperatures hit 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), essentially cooking the tires.
“We tortured those tires. There’s no other way to describe it. What we did, driving those tires at those temperatures for so long, it’s just not been done before on the Kumhos. We’re learning about the window of best performance, as are the Kumho experts here with us, and it only gets smaller as these temperatures rise,” project backer Russ Oasis said.
According to Viper Exchange co-founder Bernie Katz, the team will make another trip to the circuit and believe a 6-minute fifty-something lap can be achieved.
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