Top Gear Test Track Record Smashed

Ultima's Stig shows Swedish supercar who's quickest

Getting ready for lift-off

British supercar manufacturer Ultima has celebrated its 15th anniversary in style by shattering the lap record on the Top Gear test track.

The record was held by the Koenigsegg CXX, complete with wing, but the Ultima GTR720 stopped the clock over four and half seconds before the Swedish supercar could cross the line.

In order to make the test completely kosher, the Ultima used was fully road legal, with standard tyres, and was even driven to the test track.

According to Ultima’s director, Richard Marlow, the company has approached Top Gear on a number of occasions to let the Stig take the wheel of the GTR but have been repeatedly turned down.

So, with their very own benchmark driver at the helm, the independently figured time for the Ultima is so fast that, in a head to head race with a Ferrari Enzo, the 720bhp GTR would lap it every 12 laps.

He also announced that the British firm wouldn’t rule out further attempts at lowering the record still further, with their more powerful and faster GTR800 variant.

For the record, the Ultima lapped the track in 1:12.8, making the Koenigsegg's 1:17.6 seem positively pedestrian.