With a nickname like “The Green Hell,” it should be pretty easy to guess that the North Loop (Nordschleife) of the Nürburgring is no Sunday drive.

Originally conceived as a test track for German car makers, the Nürburgring has evolved into a revered site for automotive enthusiasts world wide, most famously its North Loop. The Nordschleife is just over 20 kilometers long, full of demanding twists and turns, and considered one of the most challenging courses in the world.

So it would only make sense that every Audi RS is tested on the track.

They’re put through 8,000 kilometers, 80% of it driven at full throttle, which, according to Audi, is the equivalent of driving a vehicle for its entire service life.“The North Loop represents the ultimate endurance test in our development and coordination work,” Oliver Hoffman, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH, tells Automoblog. “The track provides us with detailed information about the durability of our parts under extreme conditions and specifics about the suspension.”

On such an intense track, very few runs will ever be run-of-the-mill, but one in particular stands out for Audi fans.

In the fall of 2019 — while only meant to be working on fine-tuning suspension dynamics and throttle response — Frank Stippler, behind the wheel of an Audi RS Q8, managed to complete the course in 7:42, setting a new record for an SUV. “The RS Q8 combines outstanding performance and extraordinary design along with the power and versatility of an SUV and our extensive quality standards,” says Hoffman.

Read the full story — complete with video footage of the record setting run — here.