[UPDATE] It's official. Timo Bernhard driving the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo has completed a lap of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 5 minutes and 19.55 seconds. The press release has been attached at the end. Porsche says it will publish more images and an on-board video later today.

It would seem that we have a new Nürburgring overall record as Porsche is currently at the track with the 919 Hybrid Evo and latest intel points towards a lap time of only 5 minutes and 19 seconds. The folks over at Bridge to Gantry have been following Porsche’s progress with the unrestricted version of its race car in the company’s quest to establish a new record for the fastest car around the ‘Ring. Time to beat? 6 minutes and 11.13 seconds.

Stefan Bellof’s record behind the wheel of a Porsche 956 C was established back in May 1983, and now after 35 years, it looks like we’re getting ready to crown a new Lord of the Ring carrying the same Porsche crest. The very probable record-breaking lap took place this morning, so we’ll have to wait a while for official confirmation.

This might not be the end of the story as Porsche could try to shave off even more seconds. In fact, people familiar with the matter have done the math based on previous attempts with the 919 Hybrid Evo and they believe a sub-5-minute lap is not impossible. In an ideal scenario, a 4:51 time could be within reach.

Even if 5:19 is the best Porsche can do for the time being, it’s still a mighty impressive achievement taking into account it improves the old record by a whopping 52 seconds.

We’ll keep you posted once the record lap time is officially official.

Source: Porsche, Bridge to Gantry / Facebook

Photos: Porsche, CarPix