The Ligier JS50 is not your typical track car. It’s not even a regular small car, it’s a lightweight, quadricycle-class vehicle with an eight horsepower diesel engine and a top speed of just 45 kilometers per hour. That’s less than a city scooter and a far cry from the AMG monsters usually seen at the Ring.

French journalists Nicolas Meunier and Martin Colomb took the JS50 out for a full 20.8 kilometer lap of the legendary circuit, a journey that took them a jaw-dropping 28 minutes and 25.8 seconds. This wasn’t just slow, it officially smashed the previous record for the slowest lap, taking the title from the old Trabant P50’s time of 16 minutes and 1 second set way back in 1960.

To put it in perspective, the current lap record is held by the Mercedes AMG One at just 6 minutes and 29.1 seconds. But the Ligier’s run wasn’t about chasing the fastest time. It was about showing that the Nürburgring is a place for everyone, not just supercar heroes.

Finishing a lap in the world’s slowest car is one thing, but doing it on a single tank is a whole different challenge. That’s exactly what the team did, achieving an incredible fuel consumption rate of 40 kilometers per liter. In an era where everyone is fixated on horsepower and speed, this kind of efficiency is a record worth celebrating.

Ligier even played up the fun with their “Ultimate Racing Experience” package, a tongue-in-cheek set of stickers and sporty extras that poke fun at traditional performance upgrades. After the massive response to this lap, the brand is considering offering the kit to the public.

This wasn’t just a stunt. It was a smart and culturally clever move that celebrates the joy of driving, even when you’re crawling around the track. Sometimes, pushing a slow car to its absolute limit is way more exciting than cruising in a supercar without breaking a sweat. As the automotive world gets faster and more high tech, the Ligier JS50 is a reminder that pure passion and a sense of humor still matter, even at 45 kilometers per hour.