McLaren has finally taken its MP4-12C to the Nürburgring and though the British carmaker only provided a montage of video clips of the car tackling the track's famed Nordschleife section, it did say that it completed its lap in seven minutes and 28 seconds.
Although McLaren Automotive chief test driver Chris Goodwin and Pirelli test driver Rudi Adams were there to witness the MP4-12C's run around the Nürburgring, it was SportAuto editor-in-chief Horst von Saurma behind the wheel who set the time, presumably because of his extensive experience in driving high-performance cars around the circuit.
Using a standard MP4-12C road car shod with Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, von Saurma's 7:28 lap time places the car two seconds faster than the semi-slick tire-clad Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0. Perhaps more importantly, it's 10 seconds faster than its closest rival, the Ferrari 458 Italia.
"It's astonishing," von Saurma said after his lap.
We'll keep you posted if and when McLaren Automotive puts up a complete video of the MP4-12C's Nürburgring run on the interwebs.
