125 HP VW Up Smokes A Ferrari 430 Scuderia On The Nurburgring

Learn about every inch of the Nurburgring, as detailed by a racing instructor.

When you drive a car on a racetrack, common sense would dictate that a faster car should result in a faster time. Of course, there are other factors at play when you race that can help a slower car. The biggest “x-factor” is the actual driver. So, to put that to the test, YouTuber Shmee150’s recent video put a driving instructor behind the wheel of an under-powered car against a less-experienced driver in a very fast car on the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife. The result was pretty shocking.

To put this situation fully in perspective, you must understand what car they were driving. Driving instructor Misha Charoudin got behind the wheel of a modified VW Up, dubbed the “Sub 7Up.” In its current state, the car is capable of putting out 125 horsepower. Of course, they added an expensive suspension, along with other odds and ends, to make the car a more capable racecar. On this particular day, just by luck, they entered the Nurburgring right behind a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. You don’t even have to be a car person to know this isn’t a fair fight, just based on the spec sheet alone.

That’s when the driving instructor puts on a clinic. Giving commentary the entire time, driver Mischa gives a detailed “how-to” on driving the Nurburgring. Telling viewers how to approach each corner and straightaway. Along the way, he correctly predicts the positions of each vehicle on the track based on what type of car they’re driving, and the obvious experience of the driver behind the wheel. For the Scuderia, it’s clear to Mischa that the car doesn’t have a chance against the Sub 7Up. Even with far fewer horsepower, the Up is being driven by someone who knows every nook and cranny of the Nurburgring. Therefore, on this day, the Scuderia is out-classed.

The final result is a 9-minute lap time, which is very respectable for any car. Misha explains that if they hadn’t been behind the Scuderia, and a couple other cars, they could have gone under 9 minutes. In fact, Misha’s best time in the car sits around 8:50. A truly impressive feat, given the vehicle.

Anyone considering driving the Nurburging, or any racetrack for that matter, should give this video a view, or perhaps 100 views. After watching the video multiple times, we still are finding new information being given during the lap. If nothing else, this video is a clear reminder to us all that no matter how powerful our car is, we’re only as good as our driving skill.