The Cyan Racing Lynk and Co 03 Cyan Concept demolished the front-drive Nürburgring record

A pre-production still-in-development concept car beat both the four-door sedan and front-wheel-drive lap records at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It’s called the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept from Cyan Racing, and it ran the new standard circuit in 7:20.143.

Roughly a month ago, Jaguar announced its racy XE SV Project 8 sedan broke its own four-door Nürburgring lap record. It recorded a time of 7:18.361 on the previously used 12.8-mile lap setup and 7:23.164 on the full 12.94-mile setup, which will be the official layout from now on. Because it is a production vehicle, the Project 8’s record still stands today, but the 03 Cyan Concept did indeed beat that time with a lap in 7:20.143. It’s important to note that the Project 8 is all-wheel drive, while the 03 Concept is front-wheel drive. 

Which leads to the second record the 03 snappedf. With 2017 touring car World Champion Thed Björk behind the wheel, the concept absolutely obliterated the front-wheel drive Nürburgring lap record. The Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R currently holds the record at 7:40.1 on the old configuration, and the 03 shredded that time with a 7:15.123 lap on the old circuit. 

Cyan Racing, previously known as Polestar, calls the 03 Concept a “road car version of the racecar run by the team in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR).” It has a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes a claimed 528 horsepower at 7,800 rpm and 372 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. As mentioned, it is front-wheel drive, uses a six-speed transmission with paddle shifters, and rides on Öhlins adjustable dampers. It used 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 285/30R20 at all four corners. 

Again, to make this crystal, the laps are officially recorded for production cars, which this is not, but the time is still impressive. We’ll let you know if Lynk & Co tries (or survives long enough) for a real attempt.