A unique Formula Ford race car produced supercar-beating performance during a special visit to the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit.
In the hands of Nick Tandy, a one-of-a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seater racer lapped the 12.94 mile circuit in 7 minutes, 22 seconds, at an average speed of 105mph.
This means the 1.0 lite Eco Boost-powered Formula Ford lapped the circuit quicker than some 600+ bhp supercars, including the Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda.
“This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief,” said Tandy. “It’s simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance.”
The Formula Ford was modified to make it fully street legal by being fitted with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, wing mirrors a horn, a 6-speed manual gearbox and road-legal tyres.
The car’s unofficial top speed is expected to be 158.8 mph, with a 0-62 mph time of less than four seconds.
“We wanted to prove that size doesn’t matter by showing everyone what an amazingly capable engine we have developed in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing and Sales, Ford of Europe. “What better way than by beating some of the best supercars in the world on the Nordschleife, while using a fraction of the fuel.”