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Nurburgring Newsflash
Nurburgring Nordschleife News Flash.
The easy way to be updated about Nurburgring News stories, articles and gossip.
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Latest Nurburgring News
09/08/2011:
Toyota's electric Nurburgring racer is to challenge the Pikes Peak hillclimb. Evolution update model TMG EV P002 will climb through the clouds at the 90 year old event. It will be interesting to see if the Radical chassis will challenge the internal combustion runners.
DATE: 21/08/2012
Big Bernie Ecclestone is still in contract talks with Nurburgring officials. The future of the famous motor sport venue is still in doubt but hope is on the horizon. Hopefully terms can be met and a long Formula One contract can be agreed upon. Many Save the Ring fans will find this news uplifting after a lot of negative financial press. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that the mighty Nurburgring Nordschleife will have a long future.
DATE: 26/08/2012
Lap times are important for the buying public say Cadillac. How important is the Nurburgring for car manufactures as a tool to help them sell their cars. Very if you listen to Jenn Hoffman who is a big cheese in advertising with the Cadillac company. He reckons that the buying public in America really do care about the kudos of a car being developed on the famous 12.9 mile circuit where they used to run Formula 1 and Jackie Stewart called it the Green Hell and Niki Lauda had a fiery crash in 1976 etc. We at Nurburgring Explorer love the ring for its fun and passion.
DATE: 15/08/2012
The F1 supremo is still in talks to buy the troubled Nurburgring race circuit. The Nurburgring has received a second grant from the local government to help. This assistance is under review because of an E.U rule which prohibits help more then once in 10 years. The Nurburgring Nordschleife has been around since 1927 and needs a bit of luck. Visit the Nurburgring soon and enjoy a great experience.
08/06/2012: Andy Carlile is a 33 year-old from England who has set a new lap record around the Nurburgring for a motorbike. He used a 2005 Yamaha YZF-R1 to achieve a lap time of 7 minutes and 10 seconds. Anybody who knows the Nurburgring knows that is pretty amazing.
DATE: 22/08/2012
18 year old Aussie Mike Jones will be given a chance to compete in the world superbike championship. He will ride at the Nurburgring race track after impressing with his 2011 Australian Superstock 600cc championship win. Best of luck to the young lad from Brisbane.
DATE: 27/08/2012
Lexus and Gazoo, which sounds like Yazoo but isn't (Yazoo is an 80's pop band featuring Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet and Gazoo is a great race car team) are celebrating their 5th anniversary at the Nurburgring Nordschleife with a nice little video. In 2008 Gazoo teamed up with Lexus and developed the LFA into an SP8 class racer. They've had their ups and downs but at this years 2012 Nurburgring 24 hr they got the top spot in the SP8 class. I wonder if they played any Yazoo at the after race party?. Well done Gazoo.
09/06/2012:
Kia engineers have been working hard developing the Kia Sorento Crossover. The prototype has been spotted on two wheels on the Nurburgring Nordschleife but it it is still heavily disguised.
08/09/2011
The Germans at Motorrad have taken the Kawasaki ZX-10R and test driver Tim Rothig from Bridgestone and set them loose upon the grueling Nurburgring. While the time of 7:50 might not seem fast compared to the latest supercars, it takes a great deal of skill and nerve to achieve on 2 wheels.
DATE: 25/08/2012
Enjoy our not so exclusive amazing photo off the net of a Jaguar XFR-S taken somewhere near but not actually on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Jaguar have a test centre in Nurburg, actually closer to Dottinger Hohe but it doesnt really matter because its all keyword rich stuff going on here. Anyway the new coming soon Jaguar XFR-S will be fast, have a supercharged V8 with 550 bhp and 502 lb-ft of torque. It will compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi and in a few years if Dacia continue to be plugged by James May, maybe them too.
DATE: 17/08/2012
The Nurburgring DTM event marks the second half of the DTM season. Garry Paffet has a strong lead in the championship with 95 point. Mercedes team mate Jamie Green has 69 points in second place. BMW Team Schnitzer Bruno Spengler is in third place with 58 points. The race will be held on the GP track next to the Nordschleife.
DATE: 20/08/2012
Bernie the Formula boss is still trying to negotiate a deal to keep the Ring open. Primarily interested in the F1 calender, Bernie would also look at the package as a whole. Many motor sport fans around the world await the fate of the Nordschleife. Recent financial worries have become headline news around the world. Lets hope things can be sorted out so the great race circuit can continue good business.
DATE: 24/08/2012
Alexander Sims who is from Wansford in Cambridge took a dominant win. The F3 Euro Series is a hard fought racing championship for young stars of the future. T-Sport team principal, Russell Eacott said: “Alex is professional and his performance showed everyone how to win in at the Nurburgring, well done young Sir. The Nurburgring GP circuit is right next to the famous Nordschleife.
Date: 16/08/2012
Not many facts are available about the 2014 BMW M3 yet but it's engine will be smaller. The next unit should be a Turbo V6 which will be quieter. Potentially the M3 coupes name will be M4 to keep the model structure correct. Whatever the rumors, BMW always build fast, safe saloons with flair and passion. Photos due soon.
DATE: 30/08/2012
Auto industry experts are beginning to decide that the Nissan GTR has been on sale for 6 years. Thats a long time since the GTR was released and it's been lapping the Nordscheife in style ever since. To stay green however, with none what so ever concrete evidence the experts are speculating about the green hybrid option. Pehaps they will combine the rear of a badly cut out Dodge Charger RT Scalextrix model with a current badly cut out GTR. This might give the made up new model some green electrical kudos as it would powered by 240v mains electricity. Either way, if you have read this far you must realise I have no evidence what so ever.
DATE: 26/10/2012
The French have always made elegant cars wit a bit of flair and the Furtive eGT Concept looks like one of the breed. It has stylish styling which apes Audi and BMW and Aston Martin and Jaguar to name a few. The Exagon cars motor is a Siemens unit which churns out 125kw (167bhp in real money) of power which is good considering it only weighs 115 pounds. When the Furtive is finally released for production it's power will be upped to 148 kw which means about 200bhp, which is nice. With a shed load of torque which fully loaded at 0.01 RPM this nice and quiet French eGT supercar should do the 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and blast to a respectable and Porsche worrying 178 mph. What kind of batteries does this car have? Well its a 360V Saft battery pack which pumps out 53 kWh of electrical magic. If you fancy a long trip say London to Paris, Exagon will be offering an optional petrol generator which help out a lot, Exagon has not yet released any details about the price of the Furtive eGT Concept.
DATE: 24/10/2012
It's unimportant speculation time now about a Jaguar which was spied near the Nurburgring with a massive wing on it's arse. With over 550 bhp and a chunky 502 lb-ft of torque, it's burbling V8 may be too much for the tyres, maybe that's what the wing is for? Jaguar have really stepped up the game with this 0-60 in 4.2 seconds barnstormer. Enemies BMW M Spec and Mercedes AMG will be (possibly) quaking in their boots. The Nurburgring Nordschleife as always is an amazing place to spot cars and bikes.
DATE: 10/10/2012
The Rolls Royce brand is not what you expect to see testing on the Nurburgring. That moaning old git James May will be moaning as usual about stiff suspension and all that. The car in the badly photoshopped image below is a heavily disguised Rolls Royce Ghost or Corniche. The powertrain is rumoured to be a 6.6 litre V12 twin-turbo, and may produce up to 600 horsepower. Gear shifting will be taken care of by the eight-speed ZF automatic box. Well done BMW for keeping the Rolls Royce ethos in it's traditional ways.
DATE: 23/10/2012
Marc Hennerici and Marc Goosens plus good old Xavier Maassen gave the ProSpeed Competition Porsche a brilliant victory in the round five of the Blancpain Endurance Series at the Nurburgring. The numero 75 997 GT3 R racer kept into the lead until the 1st pitstops, it was then over taken by the numero 18 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS which was driven by the fab Congfu Cheng and master Mike Parisy plus good ole Jeroen Bleekemolen. The positions switched back after the last set of pitstops. The winners podium was made complete by the cool Vita4One BMW driven by fantastico Frank Kechele and the dude Mathias Lauda plus the ace Greg Franchi. The German brands rocked the top of the grid, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi and BMW lead the way in this great race.
DATE: 12/10/2012
Porsche have reports doing the rounds about a sub seven minute lap time target for the Porsche 918 Spyder. Matthias Muller, the Porsche CEO of the amazing Stuttgart brand said so in a interview at the 2012 Paris motorshow, so there !!!. Porsche apparently actually as a matter of fact have the overall major manufacturer lap record of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in it's sights. This kind of vague record of 7.12 still belongs to the Dodge Viper ACR, Porker recently came close to beating that with a 7.14 minute lap time. Lap records at the Nurburgring, while good pub banter remain difficult to quantify due to the Nurburgring Nordschleife huge size. Traffic conditions, weather and if the driver spent the most of the previous night with his or her prospective partner doing the love thing therefore being knackered all have a valid input on the final time but all this doesn't matter. A lap time is proper good news for all us bloggers to take very seriously and write about with passion using keywords like perhaps Walter Rohl, Green Hell or Niki Lauda fire.
DATE: 29/09/2012
The hybrid Porsche 918 super car is good looking, green !!, and fast as the amazing laptime of 7.14 proves. Thats over 8 minutes faster than the 20bhp Trabant P50 which set a laptime of 16 minutes and 1 second. Laptimes are important on the Nurburgring, people love to talk about them as a relevant benchmark. Tyres, driver, weather and traffic all play an important factor in the process but cannot be quantified. No matter how the time was set, as long as we can all write about just the raw laptime, that's important.
DATE: 30.09.2012
Bernie Ecclestone has revealed the Nurburgring may not be on the 2013 F1 championship calender. The circuit had been leaked on the provision calender last week in Singapore but no body is sure yet. Bernie has said he would like to but the famous German racetrack but he also admits the precarious financial circumstances. It looks as if Hockenheim will be the German GP next year. Bernie also said "If the local region is not supporting the event then it will be difficult. Fingers and legs crossed then, the Nurburgring is a famous place which deserves to be on the Formula 1 calender.
DATE: 03.10.2012
Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) recently set a new lap record for electric vehicles on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The Toyota EV P002 is based on a Radical sports car and is powered by two axial flux motors which produce a maximux power output of 350 kW (470 HP) and an incredible 900 Nm of torque. “Since our Nurburgring record last year, we have developed our electric powertrain to deliver more power, more consistently, over a longer distance, by managing the temperature of batteries, motors and inverter. Pikes Peak was a clear illustration of the improvements and we have now reinforced that at the Nurburgring”, this statement was from Ludwig Zeller. Toyota say the EV P002 has the latest off-board battery-to-battery charging technology and a TMG DC Quick Charger. This interesting technology was developed with Schneider Electric. The 42 kWh lithium-ion battery can easily be charged up from the good old AC power grid. The Toyota EV P002 set a lap time of 7:22:329. The amazing driver was Jochen Krumbach.
DATE: 25/10/2012
Fire is always dangerous in cars on the Nurburgring so we begin this story by saying the driver and co-pilot were unhurt. The Nurburgring is constantly used for car testing throughout the year and the driver go a great speed in the prototypes. Unfortunately a Mercedes AMG SLS BLACK caught fire on the Dottinger Hohe straight while pushing it's 650 bhp 6.2 ltr V8 to the limit. As always the rescue crew with the Dodge RAM 1500 E-Unit was on the scene to professionally clear up and assist. The spy photo below suggests the road version of this rather crispy test bed will look a lot like the SLS AMG GT3 race car. When the Mercedes appears on sale (2014?) it will probably cost twice the $192.175 price of the standard AMG SLS. How many of these will we see speeding around the mighty Nurburgring Nordschleife racetrack?.
DATE: 01/09/2012
The Nurburgring TV channel used some rather special cameras to film a V.L.N race. Racing at the Nurburgring is brutal to watch and great for the fans who are so close. Watch this special slow motion film which shows brutal action in high detail. Lets hope we see some more in future.
DATE: 29/08/2012
The latest Mercedes 2014 spec car has been spotted on the Nurburgring testing and what not. I have my photos delivered from a secret source and it looks like they have given this model to Tim Westwood. It might have petrol, diesel and hybrid power or perhaps elastic band power and will obviously compete with Audi and BMW. We have studied the photo and now reckon a 3 year old has been playing with the warping filter.
DATE: 11/09/2012
Power isnt everything around the Nurburgring Nordschleife as Ford have just proven. With a lap time faster than most Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghini's and other supercars the little Formula Ford racing car showed the way around the twisty German racing circuit. The single seater was produced by the Blue Oval company to demonstrate the new EcoBoost 3 cylinder petrol engine which produces 205 bhp. The little car has road legal lights and tyres which means the 11th fastest road car lap was with a 1 ltr engine mean machine. Racing driver Nick Tandy completed the lap and was impressed with the power unit.
DATE: 31/08/2012
Opel have been testing the 2013 or two thousand and thirteen Astra around the Nurburgring which has been spied, spotted and witnessed. Visit the Nordschleife to see many great prototypes being driven flat out around the many Nurburgring corners. It may have different engine options included on the hatchback, sedan and cabriolet and possibly a hybrid will be on the cards. Great stuff!!! The power will range from 100 HP to 180 HP for the petrol cars and 95 HP to 130 HP for the diesel smokers even though they use particulate filters so dont smoke anymore. The new Opel Astra Cabrio will be made in Gliwice - Poland. We dont have a good photo at the moment, I needed the toilet so missed the opportunity for a good shot.
DATE: 11.10.2012
Ferrari drivers Toni Vilander and Filip Salaquarda claimed a second victory at the Nurburgring for the AF Corse team in the FIA GT1 World Championship. The points lead changed again at the Nurburgring. At the start the Vilander's Ferrari 458 shot from 8th on the grid to 2nd. The team had a good driver change over which put Salaquarda into the lead. The Czech driver kept the lead over the second place car All-Inkl Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG which was driven by Markus Winkelhock and Marc Basseng. After this race they moved into the lead of the GT1 championship. Results after the 31 lap GT1 race at the Nurburgring:
1. Vilander/Salaquarda AF Ferrari 1h01m51.376s
2. Basseng/Winkelhock Munnich Mercedes + 6.437s
3. Kox/Rosina Reiter Lamborghini + 9.932s
4. Buurman/Bartels Vita4One BMW + 19.071s
5. Lauda/Mayr-Melnhof Vita4One BMW + 33.481s
6. Vanthoor/Ortelli WRT Audi + 51.272s
7. Ide/Castellacci AF Ferrari + 1m20.846s
8. Pastorelli/Jager Munnich Mercedes + 1 lap
DATE: 22/10/2012
The entry level Nissan G series Infiniti model has kind of struggled to match up to it's Lexus, BMW or Mercedes arch enemy rivals. That may all change soon because the latest 2014 model has been spotted testing on the famous Nordschleife. It's gonna be powered by the updated VQ37 V6 motor and hearsay says there should be a diesel smoker on the horizon too.. The Japanese company may also continue with the old school 2.5 ltr Vq25 V6 engine and the U.S market will get a 3.5 ltr V8 burbler based on the M35h.. Will it be quick on the Ring and a sales success? Time will tell!!!
04/7/2012:
Lexus deny a unique example of their mid engined LF-A supercar is going to be released. A video recently published shows a one of prototype vehicle driving around the Nordschleife area. It has caused a lot of speculation.
03/07/2012:
Jules Bianchi takes his maiden win at the Nurburgring GP circuit in a dominant fashion. Ferrari's junior driver improved in a quick fashion on his second set of tyres to take the win. Here are the final Formula Renault 3.5 results.
1. Jules Bianchi Tech 1 1m40.537s
2. Robin Frijns Fortec 1m40.915s + 0.378s
3. Arthur Pic DAMS 1m41.437s + 0.900s
4. Nico Muller Draco 1m41.555s + 1.018s
5. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m41.579s + 1.042s
6. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1m41.592s + 1.055s
7. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m41.607s + 1.070s
8. Sam Bird ISR 1m41.608s + 1.071s
9. Cesar Ramos Lotus 1m41.612s + 1.075s
10. Jake Rosenzweig ISR 1m41.785s + 1.248s
11. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham 1m41.852s + 1.315s
12. Carlos Huertas Fortec 1m41.869s + 1.332s
13. Andre Negrao Draco 1m41.890s + 1.353s
14. Will Stevens Carlin 1m41.892s + 1.355s
15. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 1m42.097s + 1.560s
16. Lucas Foresti DAMS 1m42.136s + 1.599s
17. Anton Nebylitskiy RFR 1m42.261s + 1.724s
18. Mikhail Aleshin RFR 1m42.395s + 1.858s
19. Zoel Amberg Pons 1m42.406s + 1.869s
20. Alexander Rossi Arden Caterham 1m42.477s + 1.940s
21. Nick Yelloly Comtec 1m42.645s + 2.108s
22. Daniil Move P1 1m42.750s + 2.213s
23. Nikolay Martsenko BVM Target 1m43.092s + 2.555s
24. Yann Cunha Pons 1m43.185s + 2.648s
25. Giovanni Venturini BVM Target 1m43.336s + 2.799s
26. Vittorio Ghirelli Comtec 1m43.492s + 2.955s
05/07/2012:
Jaguar was testing a heavily disguised F-Type R on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The car has already been confirmed for production and will be available with two engines A 3.0 liter V6 supercharged in two power outputs, 380 HP and 460 Nm of torque (339 lb-ft) and with 340 HP and 450 Nm of torque (332 lb-ft. A more powerful 5.0 liter supercharged V8 unit will be available. This V8 unit is also used in the XFR, XJ, XKR and XKR-S. The total total output will be 503 HP and 542 lb-ft of torque. The production version of the Jaguar F-Type will be officially released to the public later this year, and will have it's market launch in 2013.
09/08/2011:
The ERA Electric Race about prototype was spotted at the Nürburgring. Created by the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, the Raceabout has a carbon fibre chassis and four electric motors. The power output of the car is 268 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque. It accelerates from 0-100 km/h in six seconds and has a top speed of 124 mph. The estimated laptime was 9 minutes and 08 seconds.
28/06/2012:
The upcoming BMW 4 Series Cabrio has been spotted testing on the Nurburgring. It was heavily disguised but looked very quick, as most BMW's tend to. Click here to visit our main Nurburgring Website
01/07/2012:
The BMW 3 Series GT has been testing at the Nurburgring. The Bavarian car has decided to make a smaller version of it's slow selling 5 series GT. Maybe the public will prefer a smaller version and buy a lot of them.
30/06/2012:
Audi reckons the E-tron Prototype is rather quick around the Nurburgring. It posted a lap time of 8 minutes and 9 seconds, just 5 seconds slower than the 424hp V8 R8 Coupe. They say this a world record for an electric production car on road tyres. Not bad at all.
DATE: 12/10/2012
Hammond and May were witnessed (allegedly) by a very drunk person crawling home from the Hotel Tiergarten. They were driving a Porsche 918 Spyder and Citroen C1 VTR. May apparently had used the same technology from the failed Robin Reliant space shuttle experiment to pimp up his prized Citreon C1 VTR. The gear of the highest order presenters took to the Nurburgring Nordschleife to battle it out big style, like a couple of Mixed Marshall Arts fighters in the Octagon. Hammond kept the lead all the way up the Nordschleife Kesselchen until May released havoc around the Steilstrecke bend. Onlooking wildlife was amazed at the glorious sight of the 3 pot performance legend leaping the Stuttgart upstart like K.I.T.T out of the ultra realistic Knight Right series which featured the drunken burger munching Hoffmeister. The amazing C1 left the so so Porker 918 Spyder smoking in it's dust for the rest of the lap. When the celebrities returned to the car park Hammond had to be rushed to Adenau beatification centre for Frau to sort out his toasted eye brows. May got drunk behind the Pinocchio Pizza Restaurant bins and boasted and slurred about his high speed low altitude antics to a dead cat. This story is complete bollox.
11/06/2012:
2014 Maserati Quattroporte was spotted testing on the Nurburgring. It's likely to be the first of 3 new Maseratis to revamp the brand. The car will feature a supercharged V6 or a Turbocharged V8 coupled to an eight speed automatic. Should be quick.
DATE: 17/08/2012
The Nurburgring DTM event marks the second half of the DTM season. Gary Paffet has a strong lead in the championship with 95 point. Mercedes team mate Jamie Green has 69 points in second place. BMW Team Schnitzer Bruno Spengler is in third place with 58 points. The race will be held on the GP track next to the Nordschleife.
02/07/2012
Mercedes have announced they will be replacing the SLS AMG with a new GT Model. It has already lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 7 minutes 30 seconds. The car will have an extra 20 bhp raising the total output to 583. The torque remains at 479 lb-ft, but the gearbox will be revised. The performance will be 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and the top speed will be electronically limited to 197mph. Cant wait to see it.
22/02/2012
Dodge Viper ACR-X puts in a 7:03.058 at the Nurburgring. The Viper is track only racecar and it pumps out 640 bhp from its 8.4 litre V10 and has a torque figure of 605 lb-ft . The Viper ACR-X slots in behind the Pagani Zonda R with its 6:47:50, then the Radicals SR8 LM’s 6:48, then comes the Ferrari 599XX’s 6:58.16, the nearest road legal car was set by the Gumpert Appollo with a time of 7.11.57.
16/02/2012
F1: Ecclestone wants new contract for Nurburgring race.
09/02/2012
£330,000 Aston Martin Zagato Specifications are out. Aston Martin plans to build only 150 of Zagato. Even though the Aston Martin Zagato is not on sale yet it has already competed in several races, including the 24-Hour race on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The Aston Martin Zagato is powered by a 5.0-liter V12 engine, which has an output of 510 bhp at 6500 rpm and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) at 5750 rpm. The Aston Zagato is able to go from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.2 seconds and can go on to a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h).
7/02/2012
Episode 3 of Top Gear on Sunday the 12th of February should be a great one !
30/01/2012
New M6 is scheduled to debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. It has been seen undergoing tests at the Nurburgring, the new M6 will have the same 560 hp from a 4.4-liter turbocharged V8, just like the M5. However, unlike the M5, the coupe will have a carbon fiber roof, as well as other components in order to offer reduced weight. The reductions in weight translates into a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 4.2 seconds.
24/01/12
18/01/2012
Members of the German touristenfahrerforum.de joined forces to clean up the Brünchenn area of the Nordschleife. The discarded waste was left behind by fans too lazy to dispose of waste properly. The junk included a burnt out caravan. Please the Eifel area clean and tidy.
Have a look at the beautiful Eifel region and see why we should keep it clean.
10/11/2011
The new XKR-S Convertible prototype has been doing the rounds at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The 550bhp open top model will feature the same styling tweaks, suspension and performance modifications as the XKR-S coupe that was launched last March at the Geneva Motor Show. The XKR-S Convertible will also sport new alloy wheels, side skirts, an anything-but-subtle rear wing, rear diffuser and four tailpipes. The 5.0-liter supercharged V8 pumps out 550BHP and 680 Nm (501 lb-ft) offering a not-too-shabby 4.2-second 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration time.
09/11/2011
07/11/11
A 1937 BMW 328 Roadster owned by Lothar Schuettler of Darnestown, Md. Took Best of Show honours at the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance. The 328 Roadster which cost $2,792 when new was first owned by German race driver Baron Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and is one of only 18 cars that were painted black that year. The baron drove the car to victories at famous circuits such as the Nürburgring, Hockenheim and Le Mans.
06/11/11
Price hike for lapping the ring in 2012.
04/11/2011
01/11/11
Next generation Mercedes-Benz SL-Class spotted at the Nurburgring, With very little camouflage still fitted to the car, the new pictures show a new aluminum body with culptured doors. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz will feature a sharper and more upright nose similar to the new SLK an CL released earlier in the year. The sports car will be larger, lighter up to 100kg and powered by a new twin-turbo V8 engine producing up to 435hp.
28/10/11
Racing McLaren MP4-12C GT3 spotted testing on the Nürburgring. Getting ready for the 2012 racing season, the GT3 features an aerodynamic body kit with a new front splitter, revised side skirts and a massive rear wing. Other highlights include a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, Akebono brakes and a limited slip rear differential. Power comes from a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 engine which has been detuned to produce 500 PS (368 kW / 493 hp). It is connected to a six-speed sequential transmission which weighs 80 kg (176 lbs) less than the seven-speed gearbox used in the standard model.
27/10/11
Nissan's GT-R will receive a increase in power for the 2012 model. The estimates are to be around 550-hp, while the right-hand-drive markets will receive an asymmetric suspension setup. Nissan claims that the 2012 car was faster throughout the track at Silverstone and because of that data, Mizuno believes that the 2012 GT-R could be 7-8 seconds faster than the 2011 lap time of 7 minutes and 24 seconds.The current production car Nurburgring record holder is the Viper ACR with a 7:12 time.
26/10/11
McLaren MP4-12C has taken to the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife and clocked an unofficially time of 7min 28secs. Horst von Saurma of Sports Auto piloted the 592bhp McLaren. His fastest recorded lap in the Ferrari 458 Italia was 7:38, which is 10 seconds slower than the McLaren while his runs in Porsche’s GT2 RS and the Gmpert Apollo clocked at 7:24 earlier this year remain unbeaten.
25/10/2011
Sabine Schmitz to put prototype Bowler EXR through its paces at Top Gear Live.The Bowler EXR is the first of three cars the German racing driver will drivearound the track during the 80-minute show. Based on Land Rover technology and with up to 500 bhp, the EXR will sprint from 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds.
21/10/2011
The 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black series is testing on the Nurburgring. With bedplate construction and dry-sump lubrication, the SLS’s M159 naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 should produce well over 600 hp. Power will be fed to the rear wheels through a strengthened seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This car will easily break 200 mph and sprint to 60 in less than 3.5 seconds.
20/10/2011
The 2014 BMW M3 F30 shows up on the Nürburgring missing it's power bulge from the bonnet. Most reports speculate the fifth generation M3 will introduce a new 450 horse 3.0-liter inline-six with either two or perhaps even three turbochargers. A 6-gear manual or an optional seven-speed dual clutch transmission will transfer all those ponies to the rear axle.
20/10/2011
The 2013 Range Rover is testing on the Nurburgring showing the Brits have plans for serious dynamic changes on their flagship vehicle. It has a modified version of Jaguar's XJ platform with composite materials for certain panels creating a car 400 kg lighter.
19/10/2011
Audi's R8 GT is to be facelifted with new front end and some slight power increases for the V8 and V10. Expected it to be unveiled sporting a double-clutch gearbox in the Spring of 2012.
A new Audi R8 is coming in 2014 and will be lighter and stiffer. Other significant change to come with the next generation is the replacement of V8s with turbocharged V6 units.
19/10/2011
Roding has been spotted testing a new version of it's Roadster on public roads at the Nurburgring. The engine is a turbocharged six-cylinder engine producing around 220kW of power and 400Nm of torque. It may not sound a lot but the carbon fibre chassis structure with aluminium sub-frames only weigh 950kg. Expect the roadster to be unveiled in full during the first half of 2012.
17/10/2011
Mercedes-Benz is working flat out to finalize the development of the new 2012 SL. The vehicle has been stretching it's legs on the Nurburgring with a fresh range of engines. They are the 3.5-liter V6 from the SLK and a new 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 unit. The car will carbon fibre incorporated into it's design to keep weight to a minimum.
16/10/2011
Toyota has announced that its motorsports division in Germany, the unit that set the lap record for electric vehicles on the Nürburgring in August, is to develop a hybrid racecar to compete on the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship circuit, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
16/10/2011
Mercedes-Benz Classic Center has restored a 'Fintail' 1964 Benz model to compete in the long-distance FHR race on October 22nd and 23rd at the Nürburgring. The classic is based on 220 SE model (W 111 series) with the inline six-cylinder unit in original spec: 2.2 liters delivering 120 PS (88 kW / 118 hp) and 189 Nm (139 lb-ft) of torque. Transmission is a four-speed manual with floor shift with the single-plate dry clutch. Top speed is 170 km/h (106 mph). The 'Fintail' will be driven by British journalist Andrew Frankel and Klaus Ludwig, a former touring car driver.
16/10/2011
Hyundai has made a special edition prototype Genesis Coupe called the Hurricane SC. It's 3.8 liter V6 engine has a Magnuson supercharger with a liquid to air intercooler. The output is a staggering 450 hp. The IsoTorque differential, Brembo six piston brakes and Nurburgring tuned Bilstein monotube shock absorbers/springs with adjustable ride height should keep to things in check. Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) produced the body kit. The 19-inch wheels and tyres are by Enkei and Hankook.
16/10/2011
Aston is working on the 2014 Vantage. The test mule was spotted near the Aston Martin Nürburgring Test Centre. The new car appears to have wider skirts and is rumored to be built on a lighter version of the VH aluminum platform. The 4.7liter V8 and 6.0 liter V12 engines will be upgraded to produce more power and fewer emissions. A six pot is being considered as well.
15/10/2011
Tuning firm Hennessey has released the HPE650 Camaro. The supercharged muscle car packs a helpful 655 horsepower. The power unit features new cams, replacement headers and intake/exhaust upgrades. The hot Camaro will sprint to 100 km/h in around 3.8 seconds and cover the quarter mile in 11.7 seconds. It was of course developed using an excellent 12.9 mile test track.
15/10/2011
The Toyota FT-86 is the vehicle which will follow in the Lexus LFA's footsteps. Its camouflaged racing version make its motorsport debut this Saturday in Germany.The prototype, developed by Gazoo Racing, will compete in the German VLN series on the Nurburgring.
14/10/2011
The latest 2013 Mercedes S-Class mule has been testing on the Nürburgring. It's design was inspired by the 2010 Mercedes F800 Style Concept. The rumored engine line-up for the S Class will include a twin turbo 4.6L V8 engine producing 429 HP, a twin turbo 5.5L V12 delivering 510 HP, and an AMG twin turbo 5.5L V8 getting between 536 HP and 550 HP. Performance and luxury in equal measure will surely be the order of the day.
14/10/2011
Audi will be releasing it's small but punchy RS1 next year. The car was spotted testing on the Nurburgring and is rumoured to have the 2.0-liter TFSI from the Golf GTI. The hot VW, "only" has 210 hp in Euro-spec, but the RS1 is likely to produce about 250 hp. The RS1 will share the new PQ25 platform with the upcoming Polo R. Audi’s seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission will help it sprint to 60mph in under 6 seconds.
12/10/2011
The rapid Audi RS5 is set to go topless with the release of the upcoming Audi RS5 Cabriolet which was spotted testing at the Nurburgring yesterday. The engine note was great in tintop form so things can only sound better with the roof down.
12/10/2011
Mercedes Benz will be launching the C63 AMG Black sedan very soon. It has been spotted testing at the Nurburgring racing track. The four door saloon will have 510 horses from its 6.2 liter V8 engine. The car should sprint the 0 to 60 miles per hour run in a little over 4 seconds.
11/10/2011
The new 2013 BMW 3-Series makes its debut this Friday, October 14th. The Touring version is already setting test laps at the Nurburgring. Great news for all the BMW drivers who need a little more space.
07/10/2011
The 2012 MINI Cooper Roadster has been spotted testing at the Nurburgring. An interesting fact is it may have a simple manually operated folding soft-top. This should ensure the car remains light and affordable. The engine bhp figures should remain the same as the Coupe with 121, 181, and 208 horsepower versions.
27/09/2011
The British GT series is considering an race at the Nurburgring in 2012. The championship is usually held at Belgian venue Spa but could hold it's international trip at the ‘Ring next season. Championship boss Benjamin Franassovici confirmed that the circuit is being considered.
