The Nürburgring Nordschleife is arguably the most famous racetrack in the world. It’s a testing ground for vehicles of all shapes and sizes, a proving ground for top-tier sports cars from Porsche to Tesla, and a great place to shoot a viral video.
But we have never, ever seen anything like this: a 19-ton tractor tearing around the “Green Hell” for a new lap record.
The fastest official time ever recorded around the 12.9-mile track was in 2018 when the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo snuck in just under five minutes and 20 seconds, while the fastest production cars all hold times under seven minutes. Meaning? The 24 minutes and 50.57 seconds it took this Claas Xerion 5000 TRAC VC tractor to finish the route may seem downright slow.
However, according to The Drive, the German behemoth beat a previous record that was exponentially slower: a Porsche Junior tractor with 14 horsepower reportedly finished the circuit in 2014 with a time of one hour, five minutes and 36 seconds.
In other words, not many farmers or agricultural outfits bring their tractors to the Nürburgring, but that doesn’t make Claas’s run any less fun to watch. What does make it slightly less appealing is that, according to the company’s website, this TRAC model is currently just a concept.
But it does have us wondering: when are we going to see a Sherp take on the Green Hell?
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