Ligier sets record for slowest lap of the Nürburgring
Words: Andrew Sluys
The Ligier JS50 has set a new record at the Nürburgring, for being the slowest car to lap the Green Hell.
With a top speed of just 45km/h, the little diesel-powered quadricycle managed a time of 28min 25.8sec to lap the 20 kilometre track.
With a rich motorsport history, this Ligier would have felt right at home on the asphalt, despite its lack of pace.
After the lap, the French manufacturer claimed the lap “hinted at [its] glorious history in Formula 1”.
According to Ligier, the JS50 was driven from Paris to the Nordschleife on a single tank of diesel, displaying its economy during the 450km trip.
It was reported that an efficiency of just 2.49L/100km was achieved, which would have been aided by the glacial top speed.
Alongside setting the slowest lap of all time in the diesel variant, Ligier also lapped the Nürburgring in two electric variants.
The higher spec electric model has a top speed of 75km/h, allowing it to charge to a lap time of 19min 53.4sec.
Before Ligier broke this record, a Trabant P50 set the slowest time back in 1960, with a time of 16min 1sec.
At the other end of the spectrum, the fastest lap record for a production car belongs to the Mercedes-AMG One with its 6min 29.1sec sprint.
