Ford sets Nurburgring record

The one-of a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seat racer completed the lap in 7 minutes, 22 seconds to register the 11th fastest time ever on the circuit, a performance that puts it ahead of a host of supercars including the 600+ horsepower Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda. The tiny 1.0-litre, three cylinder EcoBoost engine is also used in the European Focus.

“This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief,” said racing driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who completed the drive. “It's simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance.”

Ford engineers replaced the usual 1.6-litre EcoBoost power unit with a specially tuned 150kW version of the company's new global 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine. The project team also modified the vehicle so it would be fully street legal for on-road use by fitting it with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, aerodynamically designed wing mirrors and a horn.

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The car is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox and was driven on road-legal tyres. The car's unofficial top speed is 255.5 km/h with a 0-100 km/h time of less than four seconds. The vehicle completed the 20.832 km Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of 169 km/h.