Setting a Nurburgring lap record that lasts isn’t easy. Records are made to be broken, and manufacturers are eager for the glory that comes with the fastest lap at the Green Hell for a given type of car. So French automaker Ligier went for a record no one else wanted to touch: the slowest lap around the ‘Ring.
Ligier had the perfect car for the job. The JS50 D+ is a microcar powered by a 0.5-liter diesel engine churning out 8 horsepower and 20 lb-ft of torque. It’s governed to a top speed of 28 mph, but that allows it to be sold in Europe as a quadricycle, meaning it can be driven without a license by people as young as 14. That puts it in the same category as the Fiat Topolino. It’s also efficient: French journalists Nicolas Meunier and Martin Coulomb managed 78 mpg (likely as measured by more lenient European standards, admittedly) on the drive from Paris to the track.
To help boost its chances, Ligier brought three versions of the JS50 to the Nurburgring. The D+ was joined by two electric versions, including one with a higher governed top speed of 47 mph (sacre bleu!), but the diesel was the “winner.” Its lap time of 28 minutes and 25.8 seconds was the slowest, beating the standard EV’s 27:55.6 time and the 19:53.4 of the JS50 Electric 75 KM/H (the name refers to its top speed in kph). Its name may invoke below-average performance, but the D+ demolished the previous record of 16:01, set by a Trabant in 1960.
All three cars ran on Nankang RC semi-slick tires, putting an asterisk on this otherwise impressive feat. It’s unclear if customers will be able to achieve the same level of slowness on the stock tires. Ligier didn’t release a full in-car video for verification either, opting for a dramatically scored sizzle reel, but that’s probably for the best.
Ligier is no stranger to on-track glory. It ran an F1 team from 1976 to 1996, winning a few grands prix here and there. It remains a major constructor of LMP2 chassis for sports car racing, and supplied the backbone for the Lamborghini SC63 LMDh prototype. The Lambo hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory, but it’s still a heckuva lot faster than the JS50.