AUSTIN, March 1 — It can already claim to be the world’s fastest electric car around the Nurburgring and now, thanks to a blistering lap around the Circuit of the Americas Race (COTA) track in Austin, Texas, the new NextEV NIO EP9 is also officially the world’s fastest full-production, fully autonomous car.

Its lap time, completed without human intervention, was a very impressive two minutes, 40.33 seconds and with a maximum speed of 160mph.

And then for an encore, the car went out this time with a driver behind the wheel and broke the absolute lap time for a production car around the 3.418-mile circuit — 2 minutes and 11.30 seconds and a top speed of 170mph.

Of the latest record the company has set since announcing the car in November, NIO’s US CEO, Padmasree Warrior said: “We are all about raising the bar for the entire automotive industry. Breaking records with the NIO EP9 demonstrates our automotive and technology expertise to be a leader in the global market.”

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There are a host of electric vehicle start-ups attempting to break into the highest echelons of the automotive market where the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini currently stand unchallenged.

However, what sets NIO apart from the likes of Faraday Future, GLM, Lucid Motors and a host of others is that thus far, it is equal parts bold claim and empirical evidence.

For example, its Nurburgring time of seven minutes, 5.12 seconds is one of the top five fastest ever recorded for a real-world production car.

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More importantly is that the company has managed to attract some of the world’s greatest automotive talent, whether it be in engineering and design or in software development. “[It has] helped us achieve this remarkable result in an incredibly short time. Our goal is to be the best next-generation car company, by delivering autonomous vehicles with amazing experiences for people all over the world,” said Warrior.

The NextEV NIO EP9 delivers 1342bhp to the tarmac via four individual gearboxes, can go from 0-100km/h in 2.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 194mph. Even its range — 265 miles between charges — is one of the best currently on offer from any EV builder. And, because it’s meant to be equally at home on the track as it is on the road, the car uses an interchangeable battery system that will enable full “refiling” in under 45 minutes.

The NextEV NIO EP9 will make its official US debut at the SXSW festival in Texas in March. — AFP-Relaxnews