Toyota smashes EV record on Nurburgring, speed rivals gas-powered cars (video)

Last week, Toyota's racing team set out to break the current EV record on the Nordschleife track, part of Germany's infamous Nürburgring -- and they've done it, clocking a swift 7:47.79 seconds with the P001 electric racing car. The Peugeot EX1 EV's previous 9:01.338 record seems like a distant memory as the new contender shaved more than a minute off the time, giving even gasoline-powered vehicles a run for their money. Toyota's car is no slouch as it can reach 260km/h (174mph), with a track time that rivals the Radical SR8 LM's record breaking time of 6:48. Beating its predicted goal of eight minutes, Toyota hopes the victory will bring new awareness to electric racing and perhaps to help sell custom race cars in the future -- yes, you too might be able to cop a car with the same guts (albeit different body and chassis) as a Radical Sportscar some day. Check out the full PR after the jump.