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Holden VF Ute vs The Nurburgring - record lap


In an inspired move, Holden has taken one of its utes to the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany, where it has posted a lap record. In fact, Holden is claiming a world record for the fastest lap of the treacherous 20km circuit by a commerical vehicle.

With Holden Dynamics Engineer, Rob Trubiani, at the wheel of the 270kW VF SS V Redline Ute the Aussie icon posted a sizzling 8m 19.47sec lap,  faster than many exotic sports cars costing several times more than the Ute.

"We came up with a plan to tackle the Nurburgring and break the world record for a commercial or utility vehicle but when we did our research it seemed one didn't exist, so we decided to set a record instead!" Mr Trubiani said.

"Without a lap record to break, we sat down and calculated what we thought the Ute could do and targeted around 8min 30sec. Initial practice sessions at the track confirmed that was a stretch target so that's what we aimed for."

"To slash 11 seconds from that time with an 8m 19.47sec lap was incredible. There may not have been a utility-vehicle record before but I'm proud to say the VF SS V Redline Ute is now the Nurburgring benchmark!"

The record lap time was set during a full run of the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring, a total of 20.8km. The treacherous circuit has more than 170 corners with huge elevation changes and multiple surfaces and there is no tougher test for a car and its dynamics.

Stock standard apart from a small amount of additional negative camber dialled into the front wheels (but still within production tolerances) and the removal of the speed limiter, the Ute ran flawlessly for seven days and 35 gruelling laps in total.

The only components that required changing during the entire program were tyres and brakes. The ute is fitted with the widest wheels and tyres ever fitted to a mainstream Holden and the first split front and rear tyre arrangement, with 19x8.5-inch front (245/40/R19) and larger 19x9-inch rear wheels (275/35/R19).

"If a vehicle can handle The Green Hell it can handle anything and proves yet again that Holden's testing and development processes produce world-class cars with world-class handling," Trubiani said.

"Being surrounded by mostly European manufacturers at the industry days, the Ute really stood out and I was getting plenty of thumbs up. Plus a few of the more expensive European cars on the track got a shock as this red Aussie Ute flew past them!"

Watch the Holden VF Ute vs The Nurburgring -- Part 1: The Machine
Watch the Holden VF Ute vs The Nurburgring -- Part 2: The Driver
Watch the Holden VF Ute vs The Nurburgring -- Part 3: The Ring