Get Your Thrills with the Best Nürburgring On-Board Videos of All Time

There’s nothing quite like an on-board view of the perfect lap if you want to witness driving perfection. Seeing a racer wrestle with their car round a challenging circuit is a marvel. And nowhere is the more true than at the Nürburgring.

This formidable, 12.944-mile circuit has played host to all manner of races over its near-100 year history. But as well as motorsport, it’s also used as a proving grounds to showcase what the latest cars can do. Or, well, what your daily can manage when pushed to its limits.

Because of this, we’ve been treated to some incredible on-boards from laps of the ‘ring. And we thought it was time to uncover some of our favorites.

So from EVs and vans, to F1 racers and classic cars, here are 15 of the best Nürburgring on-board videos of all time.

Are there any we missed that you think deserve a place?

This Yellowbird lapped the ‘Ring in 1987 and kicked off the trend for on-boards from the Nordschleife. Powered by a 3.4-liter flat six, the Ruf CTR completed a lap of the German track in 8:05.000. Driven by Stephan Rozer, the car hit a top speed of 212mph on the historic run.

There’s been an EV arms race at the ‘Ring in recent months. After Tesla set the benchmark in a Model S earlier this year, the fight for the crown of fastest production EV was on. As it stands, Porsche holds that tile thanks to this blistering lap in a Taycan Turbo S, which set a time of 7:33.350 over the 12.944-mile circuit.

But this is a race track, so records here shouldn’t be limited to production cars! If you want to uncover the fastest EV to ever take on the Nordschleife, then the VW ID.R is the car for you. This bonkers machine created to take on Pikes Peak also took a crack at the iconic German circuit and lapped in just 6:05.336.

It’s not all about track-prepped monsters at the Nordschleife. So let’s pause for a moment and enjoy this monstrous lap in a Mazda Miata. The blistering 7:37.38 lap time was set by Koenigsegg test driver, Robert Serwanski.

Any roundup of top Nürburgring laps would be incomplete without the work of one driver: Sabine Schmitz. The German driver was crowned the Queen of the Ring and set countless incredible laps of the circuit. Perhaps her best effort came behind the wheel of this Porsche 911 GT3 R, where you can see her pass car after car after car after car. It’s great.

From one R to another, here’s the Pagani Zonda R. This hardened, race-ready farewell to the wonderful Zonda hit the track back in 2010, and it makes for quite the spectacle. Sit back, relax and spend 6:47.50 listening to that glorious 6.0-liter V12 engine roar.

And now, for something totally different. You don’t need to have a race car of your own to enjoy the ‘Ring. You can have just as much fun in a Rolls Royce, if this video is anything to go by.

If we’re talking about the greatest laps of the ‘ring, we of course have to talk about the current record holder. That honor goes to yet another Porsche, this time it’s the 919 Hybrid Evo, which was used in the World Endurance Championship in 2018 by the Porsche works team. When it took to the Nordschleife, it set an eye-watering time of 5:19.546.

One of the good things about the Nordschleife is that its been around forever, so all manner of cars have taken to its iconic twists and turns. If you want a peak at the ‘Ring from times gone by, then this lap in an old Mercedes W125 F1 racer is a great watch. With Hermann Lang, this 1960s racer pops, barks and gargles its way around the undulating course.

If that’s how an F1 car of old could lap the Nürburgring, how would something newer get on? Well, that question was answered back in 2007 when Nick Heidfeld took to the track in a BMW F1 06 from 2006. It’s not about out-right speed, as Heidfeld keeps slowing for photos, but it’s a fun lap and one we aren’t likely to see recreated any time soon.

If you want to see something that looks really out of place, then boy have I got the video for you! In this 2018 jaunt, YouTube channel BTGDale took a Howe Racing stock car onto the ‘Ring. It’s bonkers to watch and sounds amazing with the car’s six-liter V8 roaring in the background.

Yes, there’s another record breaking Porsche, and this time it’s an SUV. The German automaker seems intent on getting a Nürburgring record for each of its models, so sent the Cayenne out to prove its worth at the track back in 2021. The car set a new record for production SUVs after it lapped the course in a blistering 7:38.93.

If you’re after a more civilized drive around the streets of the Nürburgring, then check out this lap in a 1929 Bentley Speed Six. Filmed at the Nürburgring Classic back in 2017, the video sees a vintage Bentley take to the challenging track surrounded by a raft of other vintage racers, which all barble their way around the 12.944-mile circuit in style.

Obviously there’s a lap of the ‘Ring in a van, why would there not be a lap of the ‘Ring in a van? And while Sabine Schmitz’ lap of the circuit in an old Ford van for Top Gear is iconic, I’ve got another van lap to share. This one was done by British madman Guy Martin, who lapped the course in a modified Transit.

And finally, the inspiration for this whole slideshow was the mind-bending lap that Mercedes posted from its AMG One hypercar last week. This ROAD LEGAL car packs an F1 engine into a chassis that normal people can buy. The German automaker then sent it out onto the ‘ring, where it smashed the production car record with a time of 6:35.183. Impressive.