The Stig smashes 20-year Top Gear track record in an electric hypercar you've probably never heard of

For petrolheads of the early 2000s through to the 2010s, The Stig's fast-lap exploits around Top Gear's test track was a major talking point.

And some 23 years after the unnamed white-helmeted former racing driver first hit our screens, he has now set a new lap outright lap record - and done so driving an electric car.

Top Gear's anonymous racing driver delivered the blistering time in the McMurtry Spéirling Pure VP1 - the British-built and designed electric hyper track car which has a staggering 1000bhp.

Dunsfold Park - which is located in Surrey and is 1.75 miles long - was conquered in just 55.9 seconds by the man with no name, ending the previous 20-year untouched record.

That means the Stig put the souped-up EV around the figure of eight circuit 3.1 seconds faster than the previous record time - the 59.0 seconds set in 2024 by a Renault R24 Formula One car in 2004.

BC Top Gear’s editor-in-chief Jack Rix said: 'Being there to witness a 20-year-old lap record being shattered – one we thought was untouchable - was an incredible moment.

'And for The Stig to cling onto it as it cornered at speeds unlike anything we’ve ever seen was an otherworldly piece of driving.

'We already knew the McMurtry represented a giant technological leap, this puts the exclamation mark on it. It’s a record that might never be broken… unless any F1 teams are feeling brave?'

For those who've never heard of the McMurtry Spéirling Pure VP1, it's become fabled for its ability to deliver F1 levels of cornering performance.

The electric fan hypercar's 1,000bhp drivertrain is coupled with a downforce fan system that delivers 2,000kg at all speeds.

Together, that gives the single-seat, carbon-constructed car 0-60mph acceleration in 1.55 seconds and allows it to cover a quarter of a mile in eight seconds.

It’s the world's first commercially available sealed skirt fan car, which enables it to suck itself to the track like a giant vacuum cleaner and make possible 3G cornering at accessible speeds.

The latest iteration has been upgraded too, boasting wider 60mm tyres, larger wheel arches, improved battery cells, enhanced downforce, and better cooling.

The record-breaking vehicle that The Stig hurtled around Dunsfold Park is an evolution of the car that holds the outright record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed set in 2022.

Despite the once supremely popular BBC show being cancelled in December 2022 - following the high-profile crash involving presenter Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff which left the former cricketer with facial injuries - fans will still be able to watch the the thrilling performance by The Stig on YouTube.

That's because the lap record episode is part of BBC Studios’ new Top Gear series ‘Stig Laps’.

The series has also seen the Koenigsegg Jesko Attack and Aston Martin Valkyrie smash track records, but the McMurtry Spéirling Pure VP1 has now officially set a benchmark that may take some time to be broken.

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A commercially available successor to the McMurtry Spéirling Pure VP1 that trounced at Goodwood was released shortly after the record setting hill climb.

Designed to bring back legendary fan car technology, restore passion for small and lightweight cars and make record breaking performance accessible to track driving enthusiasts, it's eligible for the GT1 Sports Club - an exclusive hyper car driving programme held in the heart of the Fanatec GT World Challenge race weekends.

The production prototype was unveiled to the public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and pre-production prototypes followed in 2024.

Deliveries of the 'Final Production' car start this year.

But while it makes recording breaking performance accessible to track driving enthusiasts, that's only for those with deep pockets because it costs a cool £895,000 plus taxes (so almost £1.1million for UK customers).

Just 100 units will be produced.

Thomas Yates, founding director of the company, said: 'The Spéirling Pure will herald a new era on the track.

'The sound, grip, acceleration, aesthetics and technology of this car are distinct.

'Witnessing the car as a spectator or from the cockpit offers a rare and exhilarating experience.

'With pre-orders from around the globe, I can’t wait for fan cars at the racetrack to become a new normality.'

The radical British-built electric car set the all-time record at Goodwood over the 2022 weekend, smashing the fastest time up the iconic Hillclimb course on the sunny Sunday.

The McMurtry Spéirling, a 200mph battery-powered single-seater that uses two fans to suck it to the road, posted a time of 39.08 seconds at the 1.16-mile route within the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex.

Former Formula One driver Max Chilton whipped it up the hill to beat the previous record time - held by a specially developed electric Volkswagen - by almost a second.

The dinky McMurtry, which is smaller than a VW Up! city car measuring just 1.5 metres wide and 3.3 metres long, is often likened to a shrunk-down Batmobile due to its proportions and design.

The McMurtry's time smashed the 2019 record set by the zero emission racing Volkswagen ID.R electric vehicle which was driven by French racing driver Romain Dumas - even though he's known as a king of the Hillclimb event.