Lightning – Engine Icon https://engineicon.com Latest car news and advice blog Tue, 14 Jul 2026 02:07:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://engineicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cropped-ME_favicon-1-32x32.png Lightning – Engine Icon https://engineicon.com 32 32 2025 Tesla Model 3 Performance at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-tesla-model-3-performance-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Fri, 24 Apr 2026 02:18:06 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-tesla-model-3-performance-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:58.4

Class: LL2 | Base: $56,630 | As Tested: $64,630
Power and Weight:
510 hp • 4035 lb • 7.9 lb/hp
Tires:
Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect
F: 235/35R-20 92Y T1
R: 275/30R-20 97Y T1

The Tesla Model 3 Performance can do just about one lap of VIR’s Grand Course in its fastest mode before its 80-kWh battery cries uncle and reduces its output in the interest of self-preservation. But please consider that the hair-on-fire Formula 1 cars of the 1980s turbo era had qualifying cars and engines that were also only good for a lap. Is this really any different?

We spent all but our first session in the Model 3 in the car’s fast-lap mode, which is Track mode with the standard level of powertrain endurance. So with a careful eye on battery, brake, and motor temperatures, we focused instead on maximum pace, turning just one hot lap at a time in the Tesla between charging.

2025teslamodel3performanceView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Credit the 2:58.4 lap time—fast enough to beat the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N we ran last year—to our quick acclimation to the Model 3’s quirks. The steering is largely devoid of feel, but it’s responsive to small corrections. The adjustable regenerative braking, set to 100 percent, per Tesla’s recommendation, slows the car rapidly. Going into the Climbing Esses at 130.0 mph requires barely a lift to help the front end bite as you toss it into the first left. A larger lift destabilizes the chassis and our own sense of self-preservation.

The Climbing Esses is where the Ioniq 5 N shows its superior high-speed stability. While the Ioniq’s body control is buttoned down and knife-edge sharp, the M3P is at times as erratic as the Detroit Lions offense. In medium-pace corners, like Sector 4’s climb toward Roller Coaster, the Model 3 essentially matches the Ioniq 5 N’s ability.

2025teslamodel3performanceView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Just before the finish line on our quickest lap, the Tesla’s thermal warnings trigger a reduced-power mode that we barely felt, and the car ended up 9 mph slower on the Front Straight than it had been at the beginning of the lap. Based on our first session, the car could likely turn a handful of laps at the Volkswagen GTI’s pace, but for just one lap, the Model 3 Performance is the quickest EV around VIR for under $100,000.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of K.C. Colwell

K.C. Colwell, the executive editor at Car and Driver, is a seasoned professional with a deep-rooted passion for new cars and technology. His journey into the world of automotive journalism began at an early age when his grandmother gifted him a subscription to Car and Driver for his 10th birthday. This gift sparked a lifelong love for the industry, and he read every issue between then and his first day of employment. He started his Car and Driver career as a technical assistant in the fall of 2004. In 2007, he was promoted to assistant technical editor. In addition to testing, evaluating, and writing about cars, technology, and tires, K.C. also set the production-car lap record at Virginia International Raceway for C/D‘s annual Lightning Lap track test and was just the sixth person to drive the Hendrick Motorsport Garage 56 Camaro. In 2017, he took over as testing director until 2022, when was promoted to executive editor and has led the brand to be one of the top automotive magazines in the country. When he’s not thinking about cars, he likes playing hockey in the winter and golf in the summer and doing his best to pass his good car sense and love of ’90s German sedans to his daughter. He might be the only Car and Driver editor to own a Bobcat: the skidsteer, not the feline. Though, if you have a bobcat guy, reach out. K.C. resides in Chelsea, Michigan, with his family.

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2025 BMW M5 Touring at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-bmw-m5-touring-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:09:24 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-bmw-m5-touring-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:55.0

Class: LL3 | Base: $137,175 | As Tested: $145,775
Power and Weight:
717 hp • 5477 lb • 7.6 lb/hp
Tires:
Michelin Pilot Sport S5
F: HL285/40ZR- 20 (111Y) ★
R: HL295/35ZR-21 (110Y) ★

There are many Lightning Lap leaderboards that contenders want to be on. Highest curb weight is not one of them. The M5 Touring is within 12 pounds of taking this ignominious laurel, but the record remains with the Audi RS Q8’s 5489-pound mass from Lightning Lap 15 in 2022. Uncheck the boxes for the Audi’s optional tow hitch and the M5 Touring’s optional carbon-ceramic brake rotors ($8500 saved), and the Bimmer would likely become the portliest machine to turn a lap.

Weight aside, the M5 Touring storms the start/finish line like an angry WWE wrestler entering the ring before it maxes out at 156.5 mph on the Front Straight, the sixth fastest of this year’s pack and, more important, 5.4 mph faster than the Audi wagon. Those pricey carbon-ceramics handle the nearly planetary forces involved in slowing for Turn 1 with remarkable grace. The Michelin Pilot Sport S5 rubber even delivers 1.03 g’s through the first turn. From here on, though, it’s a wild ride.

2025bmwm5touringView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

The tires, which wear the high load (HL) prefix, howl in protest through NASCAR Bend. The speed and mass conspire against the tires, and when they heat up, grip levels fall. Still, we managed to nail Oak Tree corner, which leads to a 150.7-mph speed on the Back Straight.

Get on the brakes early to set up for the hard right-hander at the end of the Back Straight, or you’ll end up sliding this wagon past the turn-in point. Physics wins.

Or does it? We use the 577-hp twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 paired with a 194-hp electric motor delivering a combined 717 horses to rotate the wagon’s rear end. The fun of powersliding out of corners—the rear-biased all-wheel-drive system’s front tires guiding the rears along— almost makes up for the inert steering. The Infield is a test of patience, preserving what’s left in the tires, which are squealing louder than actual swine by the time we’re in Hog Pen.

2025bmwm5touringView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

The M5 Touring’s 2:55.0 lap time is good enough to put it at the top of the station-wagon leaderboard, above the Audi RS6 Avant (the only other member). With a little more time and a little less weight, it could widen the gap.

Wagons Ho!

If it weren’t for the M5’s speed advantage on the long straights—Front, leading into the Climbing Esses, and Back—the Audi would be the top wagon in Lightning Lap history. Those wide-open-throttle sections account for nearly two seconds of gained time for the BMW, with the largest being the 1.0-second swing from entering Oak Tree to the apex of Bitch, seen here.

lightning lap 2026 bmw m5 and audi rs6 avant track speed comparison graphic

Car and Driver

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of David Beard

David Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto.

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2026 Lamborghini Temerario at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2026-lamborghini-temerario-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:05:12 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2026-lamborghini-temerario-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:41.7

Class: LL5 | Base: $440,367 | As Tested: $585,954
Power and Weight:
907 hp • 4200 lb • 4.6 lb/hp
Tires:
Bridgestone Potenza Race
F: 255/35ZR-20 (97Y) L
R: 325/30ZR-21 (108Y) L

Never mind that Lamborghini’s latest entry-level supercar is substantially larger and heavier than the Huracán that preceded it. The Temerario’s new 10,000-rpm twin-turbocharged V-8 combined with electric assist brings 276 more horsepower than before. Boosting power by 44 percent has a way of siphoning time from a lap, and the Temerario opens up a sizable 2.2-second gap compared with the quickest Huracán we’ve run, a rear-drive 2023 Tecnica. Although that difference is explained almost entirely by the gains on VIR’s three longest straights.

Despite packing 761 more pounds than that Huracán (and 594 more than an all-wheel-drive Evo variant we lapped several years ago), the Temerario puts on an acceleration clinic down VIR’s Front Straight, climbing to 173.6 mph. It’s the third-fastest speed we’ve ever recorded, behind only the Corvette ZR1 (179.0) and the McLaren 765LT (174.6). This is despite the Lambo having a power-to-weight deficit of 12 percent compared with the McLaren and 24 percent versus the Corvette. It’s safe to say the Temerario’s powertrain is an overperformer, except in one regard: sound. While what’s there is great, there just isn’t enough of it, as our team listening to it sprint down the straight kept pointing out.

2026lamborghinitemerarioView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

The expanded size and weight aren’t just wanton bloat; they bring a sea change to the interior dimensions. As proof, we assigned our tallest, six-foot-five pilot, who can’t get anywhere near comfortable with a helmet on in a Huracán, to the Lambo’s helm. The Temerario doesn’t feel heavy, and the all-wheel drive isn’t overly obvious as the car brilliantly slithers through corners, the assist from its three electric motors deftly integrated with the high-revving V-8. It’s balanced, natural, and trustworthy, making it easy to get into a flow state so sublime that thoughts of damaging a car with a sticker price this lofty are fully erased.

We’re a little surprised that the junior hybrid Lamborghini is but 84 pounds lighter than its V-12-powered Revuelto big brother, which we ran last year. That puts the Temerario at a slight power-to-weight disadvantage, and yet the two cars’ lap times were all but identical. With time differences of no more than 0.5 second, the Revuelto won Sectors 1, 4, and 5, and the Temerario took Sectors 2 and 3 to wind up just 0.4 second in arrears.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of Dave VanderWerp

Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver‘s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.

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2025 Toyota GR Corolla at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-toyota-gr-corolla-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Sun, 22 Mar 2026 22:50:40 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-toyota-gr-corolla-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 3:07.1

Class: LL2 | Base: $43,075 | As Tested: $50,504
Power and Weight:
300 hp • 3339 lb • 11.1 lb/hp
Tires:
Michelin Pilot Sport 4
235/40ZR-18 (95Y)

You might be wondering why this year’s GR Corolla lap time has flies circling it. Yep, it’s a stinker.

We didn’t expect the eight-speed-automatic GR, which comes with less aggressive tires, to be able to replicate the six-speed-manual Morizo Edition’s sub-3:00 lap, but we did expect it to be quicker.

The GR is happy exploring its limits. Switch to Track mode and shut off the stability control, and it’ll slide predictably and power out of corners without drama. It encourages you to raise entry speeds, and even if you overcook it, the GR remains stable when it’s sideways. Lap after lap, the brakes stood up to the abuse and felt good braking from 127.9 mph on the Front Straight and from 121.8 mph on the Back Straight. Unlike the VWs in attendance, brake fade is not an issue.

2025toyotagrcorollaView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

However, the gearbox is slow to acknowledge a paddle flick, which led to lost tenths in Oak Tree and Hog Pen, and its optimal upshift window is comically narrow. Get too close to the redline, and the GR stumbles on the fuel cutoff. It’s a silly way to lose time, and we’d prefer a mode where it automatically upshifts at the redline instead of tasking us with that shift.

In hopes of solving the tire problem, Toyota’s flack brought a set of Morizo wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s to the track. However, the Lightning Lap rule book strictly forbids posting times with non-homologated hardware. Nevertheless, in the spirit of experimentation, we bolted on the unofficial “Car and Driver Morizo GR Performance package” and immediately ran a 3:02.5 [see “Grip and Grin,” below].

Back on the stock tires, the GR alerted us to an “AWD System Overheated” warning during a fast lap and then informed us that it would be “Switching to 2WD Mode.” After a fuel stop and lunch, it cooled off, and we were back to stomping on the gas on corner exit. It only reinforced our opinion that the best GR for setting lap times has three pedals and Cup 2s.

2025toyotagrcorollaView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Grip and Grin

We were about to prove that the automatic GR Corolla could run quicker than the 3:07.1 we’d managed thus far. Then incorrect replacement hardware showed up: lightweight Morizo Edition wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, a setup not offered on the automatic GR Corolla.

We gave it a try, and the car came alive. Turn 1 grip jumped from 0.93 to 1.00 g, exit speed out of the Climbing Esses increased by 4.3 mph, and the lap time dropped to 3:02.5 (not as fast as the 2:59.6 an actual Morizo got in 2023). The all-wheel-drive coupler even seemed happier, no longer triggering its overheat warning.

But our rules are clear: If you can’t order it that way, it doesn’t count.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of Austin Irwin

Austin Irwin has worked for Car and Driver for over 10 years in various roles. He’s steadily worked his way from an entry-level data entry position into driving vehicles for photography and video, and is now reviewing and testing cars. What will he do next? Who knows, but he better be fast.

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2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-volkswagen-golf-gti-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Wed, 18 Mar 2026 22:47:43 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-volkswagen-golf-gti-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 3:11.3

Class: LL2 | Base: $42,105 | As Tested: $42,750
Power and Weight:
241 hp • 3285 lb • 13.6 lb/hp
Tires:
Hankook Ventus S1 evo3
235/35R-19 91Y +

The Golf GTI is no longer offered with a manual transmission. Boo-hoo, right? Here’s why that’s not worth crying over.

This year’s dual-clutch automatic car just beat all six of the GTI’s previous Lightning Lap lap times. It shaved eight-tenths off the first eighth-gen GTI we ran in 2022 and even bested the six-speed manual by a tenth. Dare we mention it did so in its first session on track?

Unlike the Golf R, no meaningful equipment changes put the GTI on the grid this year. Well, it did get actual buttons on the steering wheel instead of capacitive switches. Could we get through an entire lap without accidentally turning on the heated steering wheel? Only one way to find out. And, unsarcastically, on a track with two straights that stress test the GTI’s brake system, the steering wheel isn’t the only part that will get hot.

2025volkswagengolfgtiView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

The GTI’s brakes are good for one lap, followed by a nice, relaxing cooldown. Lean on them too hard into Turn 1 or slowing from 118.7 mph on the Back Straight, and they become considerably less effective. If you’re hoping for the cooling effect of the long Front Straight to reset everything, prepare for disappointment.

Keep the brakes from getting too hot, and you’ll find that, unlike the awkward dance steps of the GR Corolla’s conventional eight-speed, the GTI’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic moves quickly and decisively. The limited-slip differential eliminates any inside-front-wheel spin in corners, with this traction boon helping the GTI prevail over the understeer-revealing Infield section.

2025volkswagengolfgtiView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Very little threatens the stability of the GTI, even when it’s averaging 113.3 mph through the Climbing Esses. And while the brakes need to be babied, the rest of the GTI wants to stay on track. That’s high praise for a car surrounded by entries boasting four-figure horsepower and six-figure prices.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of Austin Irwin

Austin Irwin has worked for Car and Driver for over 10 years in various roles. He’s steadily worked his way from an entry-level data entry position into driving vehicles for photography and video, and is now reviewing and testing cars. What will he do next? Who knows, but he better be fast.

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2025 Volkswagen Golf R at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-volkswagen-golf-r-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:43:18 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-volkswagen-golf-r-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 3:03.7

Class: LL2 | Base: $52,120 | As Tested: $52,416
Power and Weight:
328 hp • 3369 lb • 10.3 lb/hp
Tires:
Hankook Ventus S1 evo3
235/35R-19 91Y +

Life is all about give and take. Volkswagen gave the Golf R another 13 horses for 2025, so we took the R to VIR and chopped 0.6 second off the model’s previous best time.

Let’s examine the data. Despite two different drivers, when we overlay a fast lap from a 2022 Golf R in Lightning Lap 15 onto this year’s the similarities are staggering, except for one critical moment. The improvement doesn’t reveal itself until the series of fast downhill corners—the Roller Coaster and Hog Pen sequences—that come before the Front Straight. It’s there that the updated Golf R carves out 0.6 second during a lap that’s otherwise identical to the 2022 car’s.

2025volkswagengolfrView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Thirteen horses are nice, but more confidence in the brakes than in the GTI allowed us to brake later and carry more speed into the first downhill right, Roller Coaster. From there, the R’s stability and all-wheel-drive traction took over. Trust grew, and as confidence grows, lap times tend to fall until you find a tire wall.

In low-speed corners, the Golf R’s all-wheel-drive system is indispensable, as it lets you mash the throttle without any time-robbing drama. But the car still demands discipline. Overcommit in the braking zones, and the R will leave the racing line just like any other car in favor of a path of destruction. Just ask the tire wall at the end of the Back Straight about the R’s love tap.

Like the changes brought by the refresh, a 3:03.7 lap is not shockingly greater. It’s simply better. And at a track this demanding, being a little better, even for just a single sector, pays off in a big way.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of Austin Irwin

Austin Irwin has worked for Car and Driver for over 10 years in various roles. He’s steadily worked his way from an entry-level data entry position into driving vehicles for photography and video, and is now reviewing and testing cars. What will he do next? Who knows, but he better be fast.

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2026 Audi RS6 Avant Performance at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2026-audi-rs6-avant-performance-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:57:27 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2026-audi-rs6-avant-performance-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:55.5

Class: LL4 | Base: $144,295 | As Tested: $158,865
Power and Weight:
621 hp • 4846 lb • 7.8 lb/hp
Tires:
Continental SportContact 7
285/30ZR-22 (101Y) A0

It’s hard to believe that it took 19 Lightning Lap events before a station wagon placed its rubber on southern Virginia’s hallowed tarmac for our test. But here we are now with not one but two boss wagons ready to leave their treadmarks on the all-time list.

The 621-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 powering the RS6 Avant Performance pushes Audi’s anti-SUV to 151.1 mph on the Front Straight before the driver stands on the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, whose 17.3-inch front rotors are so large that they may be capable of intercepting intergalactic radio waves. With the 10-piston front calipers at full squeeze, the wagon’s nose dives and its tail wags into Turn 1, where the Continental SportContact 7 tires hang on at 1.00 g.

2026audirs6avantperformanceView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

The steering has a positive and direct action, but the standard air springs, even in their lowest setting, allow copious amounts of body roll as the lateral g’s increase. Though the RS6 might look cool lifting its inside front wheel while exiting Oak Tree, that doesn’t benefit the lap time. In the Infield, there’s plenty of sawing at the wheel, and timing the side-to-side load transfer to work with you and not against you takes concentration and planning. And while the leather seat is likely supremely comfortable at 190-mph autobahn speeds, the minimal side bolstering had us engaging our abs and using our knees to remain upright. The RS6 works the core.

The RS6 with a tighter bod is the one on steel springs. That suspension is sportier and adds Dynamic Ride Control (DRC), which uses hydraulics to combat body pitch and roll. Alas, our car didn’t have the racier suspension. It’d be interesting to see how much quicker a DRC-equipped RS6 could lap. Maybe next year.

Even so, the RS6 Avant’s 2:55.5 dance around VIR’s ballroom is 0.6 second quicker than an Audi R8 V10 Plus’s. Beating a 602-hp mid-engine two-seater with a wagon that can hold five, plus a golden retriever, is deeply awesome. But there’s a wagon that went even faster.

lightning lap 2026 brake indicator strips

Car and Driver

The Heat Is On

Alcon temperature-indicator strips are used in racing to track brake-caliper temperature. Since VIR punishes braking systems, we applied the strips to the front calipers of some entrants to see how hot things get.

The hottest calipers belonged to two very different cars: the VW Golf R and the Audi RS6 Avant wagon, both of which reached 330 degrees. The 3369-pound Golf R relies on dual-piston front calipers clamping 14.1-inch iron rotors, while the 4846-pound RS6 uses massive 10-piston calipers and 17.3-inch carbon-ceramics, the largest brake rotors in this year’s field.

Sports cars designed for track abuse ran much cooler. The Corvette ZR1 and the 911 GT3 ran hard for three days without heating the calipers enough to register on the strip, which starts at 250 degrees. The same was true of the Audi RS e-tron GT’s 10-piston front calipers. The Audi’s lapping schedule—essentially one hot lap at a time to maximize battery performance—likely kept them cool. —Austin Irwin

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of David Beard

David Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto.

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Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/lamborghini-huracan-super-trofeo-evo2-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:38:34 +0000 https://engineicon.com/lamborghini-huracan-super-trofeo-evo2-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:30.6

Class: LLPro | Base: $360,000 | As Tested: $360,000
Power and Weight: 612 hp • 2950 lb (C/D est) • 4.8 lb/hp
Tires: Hankook Ventus slick
F: 300/660R-18
R: 300/680R-18

Throughout the year, squads of stripped-down Lamborghini Huracán race cars square off in championships in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. VIR resident Kaizen Autosport looked after this particular example on behalf of a client last year who ran in the Pro-Am class; thanks to both of them for bringing it to Lightning Lap.

lamborghini huracán super trofeo evo2View Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

After sizing up the livery, meant to mimic a child’s play mat adorned with roads and buildings, we folded ourselves into the Huracán’s tight confines. Even with the seat bolted to the floor and no headliner, our tallest staffer barely fit; our right knee whacking the shift paddle caused a few unplanned upshifts. It’s a serious thrill to pilot—so eager, so precise, and also a serious workout. Standing on the brakes hard enough to get the dash lights to blink, indicating ABS activation, takes massive effort. But you can brake incredibly late.

We want to bottle up the V-10’s syncopated scream because we already miss it dearly. As we found ourselves traveling backward in the grass, we were reminded that stiffly suspended race cars don’t swallow curbs like street cars do, and they spin rather instantaneously.

lamborghini huracán super trofeo evo2View Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Kaizen hot shoe Wyatt Foster, who co-drove this car for the season and finished as high as third, set the timed lap. The Super Trofeo is a perfect example of what downforce (roughly 1500 pounds at 170 mph), light weight (2756 pounds minimum), and slicks can do. Using most of the 17 degrees of rear-wing angle the series allows, the Huracán is glued through the Climbing Esses. Foster’s right foot never flinches as he actually accelerates through them, averaging 153.2 mph. That’s 12.0 mph faster than the Corvette ZR1, the fastest street car we’ve run, and just 5.3 mph shy of the swiftest thing we’ve measured in this sector, the Garage 56 Camaro.

The 5.2-liter V-10 retains stock internals and makes 612 horsepower. And all of that downforce means limited top end; the Super Trofeo’s 164.7-mph peak isn’t even in our top 10 among street cars. While the Hankook slicks are more endurance oriented, their 1.19-g average in Turn 1 doesn’t exceed that of some street tires in previous years, another clue that grip was lacking. Compare it to the bonkers 1.43 g’s from last year’s Ford Supertruck.

lamborghini huracán super trofeo evo2View Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Still, a 2:30.6 lap is heroic. That’s 13.3 seconds quicker than the quickest street Huracán and 11.1 quicker than the new Temerario. The $360K price seems downright reasonable compared with that of Lamborghini street cars, and the Kaizen crew attests to the car’s durability. We’re drooling at the thought of what the Temerario Super Trofeo might be capable of with an infusion of power from the new twin-turbocharged V-8. Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of Dave VanderWerp

Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver‘s vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.

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2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS at Lightning Lap 2026 https://engineicon.com/2025-porsche-911-carrera-gts-at-lightning-lap-2026/ Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:33:34 +0000 https://engineicon.com/2025-porsche-911-carrera-gts-at-lightning-lap-2026/

From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:45.8

Class: LL4 | Base: $204,206 | As Tested: $222,606
Power and Weight:
532 hp • 3588 lb • 6.7 lb/hp
Tires:
Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport R
F: 245/35ZR-20 (95Y) NA2
R: 315/30ZR-21 (105Y) NA2

When you sell something like 20 variants of the 911 nameplate, you must master the art of differentiating them. What’s one surefire way to distinguish these pinnacle sports cars? Engines. In the case of the 911 GTS, it’s the very new 532-hp hybrid powertrain.

The GTS is the first electrified 911 we’ve lapped at VIR. A turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six works with an electric motor in the turbo and another in the dual-clutch gearbox. On the Front Straight, the GTS peaks at 159.7 mph—3.7 mph faster than this year’s GT3 and swifter than 19 of the other 911s we’ve lapped. Only three have gone faster: two Turbo Ss and the 2018 GT2 RS.

2025porsche911carreragtsView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

Accessing maximum thrust requires some effort. Full power from the electric motor is only available in brief periods and only when the driver pushes the Sport Response button on the steering wheel. Ideally, you tap it before a corner or near the apex to summon all the horses for the next straight. We’d prefer a button that requires less focus, since we’re pressing it seven times per lap. Despite putting the small lithium-ion battery through the ultimate stress test, it never overheated or cut power, and it used only an indicated 25 percent of its capacity.

This GTS is easy to acclimate to, as most Porsches are. The fuzz-covered steering wheel and optional carbon-fiber buckets provide a close connection between human and 911. The steering is not quite as sharp as the GT3’s but is still among the best in the business, reporting high-fidelity feedback at all times. When the rear end steps out of line midcorner, it practically gathers itself up. Sometimes this bit of rotation works to your advantage: Lift, rotate, point, accelerate, brake. Repeat.

2025porsche911carreragtsView Photos

Michael Simari and Marc Urbano|Car and Driver

In Turn 1, the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport R tires stick at 1.08 g’s, trailing this year’s GT3 on dealer-installed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R rubber by just 0.03 g. So, why no Michelins on the GTS? Officially, Porsche doesn’t homologate them for the GTS. Unofficially, they will fit, and they might even help the GTS eclipse the GT3’s lap time.

Back to Lightning Lap 2026

Headshot of David Beard

David Beard studies and reviews automotive related things and pushes fossil-fuel and electric-powered stuff to their limits. His passion for the Ford Pinto began at his conception, which took place in a Pinto.

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