Automakers love to flex Nürburgring lap times like they’re Olympic medals. Faster is always better, bragging rights are eternal, and tenths of a second matter. But Ligier, a French brand best known these days for quadricycles and once upon a time for Formula 1, decided to ask a far more important question: what happens if you aim for the slowest lap instead?
Enter the Ligier JS50, a diesel-powered quadricycle that exists in the same philosophical space as the Citroën Ami—that is, transportation reduced to its bare minimum. In its most potent configuration, the JS50 makes a fearsome eight horsepower and tops out at 28 mph, assuming gravity, wind resistance, and mild ridicule are all on its side.
French automotive journalists Nicolas Meunier and Martin Coulomb took this heroic underdog to the Nürburgring for an official, timed lap of the full 12.9-mile Nordschleife. Against all odds—and several long straights—the JS50 completed the circuit in 28 minutes and 25.8 seconds. Congratulations are in order: that is now the slowest officially recorded Nürburgring lap in history.
In doing so, the JS50 dethroned a legend. The previous holder of this dubious honor was the East German Trabant P50, which lumbered around the Ring in 16 minutes and 1 second back in 1960. Perspective matters here. The current Nürburgring benchmark, set by the Mercedes-AMG One, is 6 minutes and 29.1 seconds—less than a quarter of the time it took the Ligier, and roughly how long the JS50 spent accelerating onto a straight.
Ligier, fully leaning into the joke, claimed the lap time “hinted at its glorious history in Formula 1,” according to Autocar. And honestly? Fair enough. It takes real confidence to show up to the world’s most intimidating racetrack with eight horsepower and a dream.
The bigger challenge, however, wasn’t speed—or the lack thereof—but fuel range. Meunier and Coulomb set out to complete the entire lap on a single tank of diesel. Mission accomplished. The JS50 averaged a remarkable 94.1 mpg, proving that while it may be slow, it’s spectacularly efficient at being slow.
For the occasion, the quadricycle was fitted with what Ligier calls its “ultimate racing experience” package. This includes horsepower-boosting decals (science is still debating how) and a go-faster body kit that mostly tells the world you’re in on the joke. Amazingly, Ligier is reportedly considering offering this package to customers following the successful Nürburgring run.
And honestly? We hope they do. In a world obsessed with speed records, there’s something refreshing about a car that shows up, takes its time, sips fuel, and leaves with a trophy nobody else was brave—or patient—enough to chase.
Source: Autocar
