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Renault wants revenge. Via the medium of Facebook, it has revealed a cryptic teaser with the hashtag "Under8" which can only mean one thing: it wants to get around the Nürburging in less than eight minutes.
Well, at least we think it wants it to. There are no other details - other than a list of sponsors - and the company itself is keeping very quiet, saying only that there are "two months to go..."
To get anywhere near eight minutes around the Nürburgring is - even in today's world of Porsche 918 Spyders and McLaren P1s - still an incredible achievement, but allow us to provide some context first.
Way back in 2011, Renault's Megane RS 265 Trophy managed to scorch a path around the Nürburgring nine seconds quicker than the previous title-holder, the Megane R26R. That time was 8m 07.97s.
An astonishing achievement for a front-drive, road-legal hatch that stood for some time. Until earlier this year, when Seat strapped touring car champ Jordi Gene into a 276bhp Leon Cupra 280 and set him loose. Gene, utilizing the witchcraft of those Nürburgring forests, mananged a time of 7m 58.4s, setting a ‘record' for a front-wheel-drive production car.
Of course, as we've maintained time and time again, there is no official ‘Ring lap time governing authority, nor is there agreement on exactly where a lap should start and finish.
But regardless, Seat is the current king of the front-drive hatches, and Renault is peeved. We're told details will arrive in June. Get ready for a war...
Want to see what Renault's up against? Watch Seat's Leon 'Ring lap time here
And now, watch the McLaren P1's Nürburgring lap
Written By:- Vijay Pattni
More of this article on the Top gear website
