Sabine Schmitz Sets Nurburgring Record for Seven Seaters
The Skoda Kodiaq vRS has just set a record around the Nurburgring, with everyone’s favorite high-speed taxi driver behind the wheel – Sabine Schmitz.
When it comes to setting fast times around the 12.9-mile long Nürburgring toll-road turned race track, the seven-seat Kodiaq doesn’t exactly seem like the best choice. But this is the vRS model, which means a 2.0L turbodiesel that makes 239 hp. Plus it has dynamic chassis control and all-wheel drive to help make that extra bit faster.
And it matters who is behind the wheel. The obvious choice is Ring Taxi driver, pro racer, and TV hot shoe Sabine Schmitz. She has done more than 30,000 laps around the ring, including a nearly sub 10-minute time in a Ford Transit van.
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Schmitz was able to lap the ‘Ring in 9:29.84, setting the record for fastest seven-seat SUV.
“The car looks sporty and the drive is sporty. I thought a seven-seater would not be so easy to handle, especially on a demanding circuit like the Nordschleife, but I have great feelings about it. It drives well. I’m really impressed. This car is absolutely stock, so we didn’t change anything,” she said about the vRS.
Skoda has even condensed the lap into this two-minute, 31-second video so you can watch the record attempt. The Kodiaq vRS will premiere without the camouflage this October at the Paris Motor Show.
A version of this story originally appeared on VW Vortex.
Evan moved from engineering to automotive journalism 10 years ago (it turns out cars are more interesting than fibreglass pipes), but has been following the auto industry for his entire life. Evan is an award-winning automotive writer and photographer and is the current President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. You'll find him behind his keyboard, behind the wheel, or complaining that tiny sports cars are too small for his XXXL frame.
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