Ligier sets a Nürburgring record… by being as slow as possible

Fastest lap times, record chases and heroic onboard videos? Ligier is giving all of that a pass. The French manufacturer took a completely different approach and made history on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in early 2026, with the slowest lap time ever.

Yes, really. Instead of brute horsepower and aerodynamics, Ligier sent its JS50 Revo D+ out onto the ‘Green Hell’ circuit with one clear goal: to lap as slowly as possible. And it succeeded… spectacularly.

A record nobody asked for (but everyone laughs about)

The diesel-powered JS50 Revo D+ is not a car in the classic sense. In Europe, it falls under the quadricycle category, a vehicle you can drive in some countries from as young as 14, without a licence. Under the bonnet sits a tiny 0.5-litre diesel producing 8 hp. Top speed? Legally limited to 45 km/h.

With that arsenal, Ligier took on the 20.8-kilometre Nordschleife. The result: 28 minutes and 25.8 seconds.

For comparison: that is more than four times slower than a modern hypercar, and even considerably slower than the previous ‘slowness record’, which had stood in the name of a Trabant since 1960.

Paris–Nürburgring… on a single tank

As if that were not absurd enough, two French journalists drove the JS50 from Paris to Germany, simply on public roads. On a single tank of diesel, they achieved fuel consumption that would make any modern hybrid jealous. Efficiency reigns, though a cruising speed on par with a moped obviously helps.

Once it arrived at the Nürburgring, the JS50 had the entire track to itself. No other traffic, no pressure to make way. Just time. Lots of time.

Diesel vs electric: slow, but different

Ligier brought not one, but three JS50s to Germany. The diesel version was the slowest and took the headline record. The electric variant, also speed-limited, was just a touch faster. And then there was an even faster electric version that (with a higher top speed) even dipped under twenty minutes. Relatively speaking… blisteringly quick.

But make no mistake: the star of the show was the diesel JS50, which reduced the Nordschleife to something resembling a scenic countryside drive.