The BMW M135i has been winning the hearts and minds of the world’s motoring press since its release. Now, German mag Sport Auto has used the 235kW/450Nm offered in the M135i to good effect by lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 8 minutes 18 seconds.

It’s understood the car used by Sport Auto was fitted with a 6-speed manual transmission and was rear-wheel drive, rather than an all-paw xDrive model.

Here’s a list of other times achieved by Sport Auto test driver Horst von Saurma that are around the same as the M135i:

• 8:05 – BMW M3 (2007)
• 8:09 – Audi RS4 (2006)
• 8:09 – BMW M6 (2005)
• 8:13 – BMW M5 (2004)
• 8:13 – Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (2009)
• 8:15 – BMW 1 Series M Coupé (2011)
• 8:16 – Porsche Cayman S (2009)
• 8:18 – BMW M135i (2012)
• 8:22 – BMW M3 (2000)
• 8:25 – Lotus Exige S (2008)
• 8:26 – Audi S5 (2008)

[Source: bmwblog.com]