Archive Pre-2009

Why is the Nurburgring Nordschleife so important?

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Parent Category: The Archive

Created on Tuesday, 22 December 2009 15:45

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:04

Published on Tuesday, 22 December 2009 15:45

Written by DL

aka Just Shut Up About The Damn 'Ring!

Love it, like it, or loathe it; the Nürburgring is the centre of your Performance Car world. Scattered over these rolling Eifel hills are buildings and compounds housing the latest sports models from twenty five different manufacturers. There are facilities for nearly a dozen OEM parts and tyre manufacturers on top of those. And from April ‘til September of each year the tiny village of Nürburg blossoms into a multi-cultural petrolhead heaven. Weekdays, 8am ‘til 5pm, the latest prototypes pound relentlessly around the track in a flurry of understeer and oversteer, pushed to the limits by both trained professionals and cack-handed engineers alike. And when the professionals have exited the circuit via the secretive ‘T13’ gate, the track makes its transformation into a public road. Marshals rotate the speed limit signs to face the adrenaline-soaked crowds, and the toll gates light up and start swallowing the €21 tickets. Then, until 7.30pm each and every week night, the track isn’t a track. It’s Wacky Races mixing cars with buses and roofboxes.

And then there are the weekends; where grassroots motorsports is interspersed with more public opening hours, the growing number of trackday refugees and the odd international event. Sounds a bit hectic? It is.

But the importance of this 20.8 kilometre tarmac rollercoaster (whose infield section alone contains four complete villages and a population of nearly 2500) runs deeper than it being a summer camp for the fossil-fuel inclined. The money being spent here by the big players is ludicrous. It’s millions per year.

Yes there are other places where these manufacturers may gather; Norway for cold-weather proofing, Death Valley for hot weather. But there’s only one place where so many gather simply to work on vehicle dynamics and corporate boasting.

This year’s laptime battle is a prime example of the boasting and cock-sure strutting that can go on here at the ‘ring. Nissan have been keen on setting a good Nürburgring time ever since the R32 Skyline set a fairly rapid 8min24s back in 1989. Now, thanks largely to a completely Nürburgring-fixated Project Leader, we're down to an incredible 7min29s for the R35 GTR. And Chevrolet reckon they're going to crack that with their new range-topping Corvette; the carbon-braked and overly-supercharged ZR1 (pronounced “Zee-Ah-One, and supersize me please”).

Cadillac CTS-V sets the saloon car lap record

But these days the Nür-effect doesn't just sell supercars like the Skyline, 'Vette and RUF Yellowbird (click here). The Cadillac CTS-V (powered by the same motor as that Zee-Ah-One) was boasting about the first sub-8-minute lap time for a saloon car. Opel/VXR's Corsa set a rather impressive 8min54s, first sub-9-minute for a 'supermini'. And so on... (add to that the Renault Megane R26.R, fastest front-wheel-drive around the 'ring)

Because the more the manufacturers tell us a Nürburgring time is important, the more they've got to make sure they actually set a good one. And the more they've spent getting that lap time, the more they'll shout about it when they do.

So the million-dollar question is: what's the truth behind the Nür-spec claim? Well, look at the list below. If you're considering a sporty model from any of those manufacturers, the chances are that it's had elements tested, changed and proved on the Nürburgring. The organic mix of Grand Prix and B-road with plain ridiculous surfaces and bends is something so unique that Honda actually tried to build their own miniature version in Japan (they even imported the mixture to make their tarmac 'German Style', it obviously still isn't the same as the real thing as I saw the 2010 Honda NSX replacement testing here only recently). This place has bankings, jumps and compressions. There are 300 metre descents with disc-warping braking zones every other corner. Head-gasket-torturing climbs of over 20% for a minute at a time. BMW reckon a car should only last around 600 laps here before it's ready for a rebuild.

Testing in the so-called 'Industry pool' at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

So take it from me, take it from the 25 manufacturers, if a car can handle a fast lap of Nürburgring, it can handle anything from a cross-country dash to a lap of a GP circuit. It might not be perfect at either, but it'll be a damn sight closer than something set up by driving over the concrete blocking on a UK test track.

You might not ever visit the place, it may sound as inviting as a sleep-over with the Kia styling team, but if you like your cars to perform, not just to transport, then the Nürburgring is the centre of your world.

Car Manufacturers who test here regularly:

• Alfa Romeo
• Aston Martin
• Audi
• BMW
• Cadillac
• Chevrolet
• Ferrari
• Fiat
• Ford
• Honda
• Jaguar
• Land Rover
• Lotus
• Mazda
• Mercedes Benz
• Mitsubishi
• Nissan
• Opel Performance Centre (VXR in the UK)
• Pontiac
• Porsche
• SAAB
• Seat
• Skoda
• Toyota
• Volkswagen

Tyre manufacturers with facilities and test programs here:

• Bridgestone
• Continental
• Michelin
• Dunlop
• Goodyear
• Toyo
• Yokohama
• Verdestein

Component manufacturers with facilities and test programs here:

• Bilstein
• Capricorn
• Sachs
• TWR
• Öhlins

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