Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept sets FWD and saloon Nurburgring records

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 and Renault Megane RS Trophy-R never saw it coming.

23 August 2019 at 13:20

Formerly known as Polestar, Cyan Racing took down the Nürburgring record for a four-door production car with a Volvo S60 Polestar back in 2016, but decided to keep the accomplishment a secret for about a year. That record has since been improved several times, therefore the company no longer holds the title with that car. However, the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept picks up where the S60 Polestar left off by claiming the record for the fastest four-door car around the Green Hell.

Cyan Racing has a different approach this time around as they’re announcing the record-breaking attempt soon after it happened and are also providing video proof. Behind the wheel of the 528-horsepower sedan was WCTR Lynk & Co Cyan Racing driver Thed Björk who lapped the full 12.9-mile layout of the Nordschleife (“North Loop”) in 7 minutes and 20.1 seconds while averaging 105.8 mph. In the press release, Cyan Racing wishes to point out other automakers often use the slightly shorter 12.8-mile configuration of the track, therefore the concept’s lap time is even more impressive.

Gallery: Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept sets Nurburgring records

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The Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept has thus managed to shave off three seconds from the lap time achieved by the Jaguar XE SV Project 8, which recently completed a run of the 12.9-mile track in 7 minutes and 23.1 seconds. In the process, the speedy saloon also obliterated the record for the fastest front-wheel-drive car on the famous German track, previously held by the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R with a time of 7 minutes and 45.3 seconds for the full official lap.

As for the shorter version of the circuit, the car completed the course in 7 minutes and 15.1 seconds, which is better than Jag’s 7 minutes and 18.3 seconds and Renault’s 7 minutes and 40.1 seconds.

Equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept provides a meaty 528 bhp and 372 pound-feet of torque channelled to the front axle through a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifts. It does the 0 to 62 mph run in 4.4 seconds and the 0-124 mph sprint in 10 seconds before topping out at 193 mph.

Notice how we keep calling it a concept? That’s because it is. Motor1.com got in touch with Cyan Racing in an attempt to better understand the car’s exact status. While it’s officially a concept car, we were told the vehicle used to set the two records is road legal and registered in Sweden. In addition, a production version will be sold “in very limited numbers to VIP customers” in the same specification as the concept.

Is that enough to make it worthy of the fastest front-wheel drive and four-door production car titles at the ‘Ring? It’s up to you to decide. For what it's worth, the outright four-door record is held by the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR with a lap time of 6 minutes and 57 seconds.

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Cyan Racing breaks two Nürburgring records with Lynk & Co

Cyan Racing, formerly named Polestar, has broken two Nürburgring lap records during development of the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept, making it the fastest four-door car and the fastest front-wheel driven car in the world around the fearsome 21-kilometre Nordschleife circuit.

This also marks the first time that a Chinese manufacturer has claimed a record on the legendary German circuit with a mass production-based car.

The 528-hp Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 20,143 seconds, averaging 170,4 km/h, with Thed Björk, the 2017 World Champion of touring car racing, behind the wheel.

"We continued our development of the car in torrential rain and scorching sunshine on the most fearsome circuit in the world," said Thed Björk, driver in the WTCR for Lynk & Co Cyan Racing.

"The car is rewarding to drive no matter the conditions, be it the Nürburgring or the autobahn. The record that we achieved here is something I rank on the same level as my racing titles and a highlight in my part of transitioning development from race to road cars."

The lap time is three seconds faster than the record for four-door cars, formerly held by Jaguar, and 25 seconds faster than the record for front-wheel driven cars, formerly held by Renault.

The race engineers and drivers of Cyan Racing, the official motorsport partner to Geely Group Motorsport, have developed the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept as a road car version of the race car run by the team in the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR).

The road car is developed by largely the same team that developed the previous concept cars of Cyan Racing, the 450-hp Volvo C30 Concept and the 508-hp Volvo S60 Concept.

"We continue to push past the boundaries and goals that we have set for the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept, a car that acts as a development platform for future Lynk & Co performance cars and parts," said Henrik Fries, Head of Automotive R&D at Cyan Racing.

"While our main purpose for the many laps on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is development, the records that we broke are a true testament to the potential and capabilities of the Lynk & Co platform, as well as our engineering philosophy from more than two decades of motorsport and road car performance."

Development of the Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept will continue throughout the last part of the year, with the team turning attention to winter testing in the north of Sweden as part of creating a performance car for all roads, all seasons and all conditions.

The 7:20.143 lap record was set using the full 20,832km circuit layout as per the official Nürburgring standard and not the shorter 20,600km version as often used by other manufacturers. The Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept lapped the shorter version of the circuit in 7:15.123.

Cyan Racing also holds the lap record for the fastest ever front-wheel driven race car with the 2017 World Title-winning Volvo S60 Cyan TC1 - lapping the Nordschleife + GP circuit in 8:34.813, as well as previously holding the lap record for four-door road cars with the Volvo S60 Concept in 2016 with the time 7:51.110 on the 20,832km circuit.

Lynk & Co 03 Cyan Concept – Technical specifications

Engine

4-cylinder

1969cc

Turbo charged

Power

528hp at 7800 rpm

504Nm at 4500-7000 rpm

Max 8000 rpm

Transmission

Front-wheel drive

6-speed gearbox with paddle shifts