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Video of the week: Electric EP9 is Nürburgring king

 

This week’s video could mark something of a changing of the guard, with the all-electric NIO EP9 setting a lap record of 6:45.9 at the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Having taken the EV record on the 20.8 km circuit back in October, the world’s fastest electric car returned to the ‘Green Hell’ this month in pursuit of the overall record. The EP9’s 1 Megawatt of power (equivalent to 1342 bhp) delivers a top speed of 313kph (194mph). But it’s the lightning fast acceleration that really sets it apart, capable of going from 0-200kph (0-124mph) in just 7.1 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4MRydmz86E

That acceleration was key to breaking the previous Nürburgring record, set by the Pagani Zonda R in 2010. The EP9 was able to shave nearly two seconds off the Zonda’s record of 6:47.5, and petrolheads will be watching keenly to see if the internal combustion engine can strike back.

At just over seven minutes, the video is a little on the lengthy side, but it’s seven minutes that we may look back on in years to come as historically important, a symbolic moment in the evolution of electric vehicles.