Recently, the guys at Top Gear were able to test Nissan’s ZEOD RC electrified race car around the Dunsfold Aerodrome. During that time, Nissan’s own racing driver Wolfgang Reip hopped in to set an official lap time for the dart-shaped car at the famous track.

The time he set driving the ZEOD RC was an impressive 1:05.3. By comparison, Michael Schumacher took 1:10.7 driving around the track in a Ferrari FXX and the Pagani Huayra, the road car with the fastest time around the track, needed 01:13.8.

What's more impressive about that the time is that powering the ZEOD RC is a plug-in hybrid system that pairs an electric motor with a tiny turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder putting out an incredible 400 horsepower on its own. Drive is sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed gearbox, and the driver has the ability to swap between electric, gasoline and hybrid modes.

So far, the only competition the ZEOD RC has seen has been this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which it failed to finish due to gearbox issues. Nissan will be back at Le Mans next year, but this time it will be competing in the premier LMP1 category with its new GT-R LM NISMO hybrid prototype.

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