The latest Radical SR8 LM has shattered the lap record for road-legal sportscars, with a mind-blowing 6m48s full lap. The car, driven on the roads all the way from Radical's Peterborough factory, was raised 20mm on its suspension in order to get on and off the ferry. Michael Vergers was the pilot, again, knocking 8 seconds off his previous best.

The car, which boasts 460bhp from its 2.8litre V8, was running on street-legal Dunlop Direzzas for the attempt.

"To be honest, I've only just been told we were running the hard compound tyres," said Vergers minutes after the attempt. "We had a lot of grip at the front, but not so much at the rear. At corners like Adenauer Forst it was a bit..."

A somewhat knackered Michael Vergers

At this point Vergers mimes a snaking motion with one hand, no doubt hinting that the lack of speed also means a lack of downforce from that huge rear wing.

"We're all very pleased, the lap was a real, well... I had some moments back there, let's just say that! We only did 6 laps total, and the first one. Wow. The car barely touched the ground! We had to soften everything right off, then we disconnected the anti roll bars too."

Tax disc for the road-legal SR8 LM

Only last week Gumpert were claiming victory for their Apollo after it lapped the Nordschleife in 7m11s. This 4WD supercar is a real racer, but still has a half-decent cockpit with suede and air-con. By comparison, the Radical's legality for the road will no doubt be questioned by many, as it's unlikely to pass a stringent TüV exam here in Germany.

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