Back in April, fellow Autoblogger Chris Tutor caught the Veritas RS3 heading out onto the Nurburgring for a photoshoot. Today, Chris took a brief break from his day-job to see what he could spy on the 'Ring's webcam and found the same trio of lightweight, track-tools that dance in our minds when we hit REM sleep. A Lotus 211, a KTM X-Bow and an Ariel Atom were all getting ready for their close-ups at the entrance to the Green Hell, likely a feature story for a European buff. There's no way to tell who's doing the shooting, but don't be surprised if a video begins floating around YouTube of the three track toys in the next couple of months. We'll keep an eye out.
Following yesterday's report that Michael Schumacher had crashed a prototype Ferrari 430 Scuderia on the Nurburgring, some things have come into focus, but little has become any clearer. Ferrari insists that, although Schumi had been driving the car that day, it was actually the factory's road car test driver Raffaele de Simone who was driving when the car hit the guardrail at 250 km/h. Photographs show that the 7-time world champion had been driving the car with his young son Mick – himself just starting out in karting – riding shotgun... with neither of them wearing helmets. Meanwhile, though the car is being described as a prototype, nothing about the exterior of the car appears different (aside from the Perspex sliding windows, and of course the "aerodynamic modifications" around the rear left wheel), and though the car was described as a right-off, the damage looks quite minimal for a 155-mph collision.
Them's fightin' words, but when we're talking about a V10-powered version of the Audi R8, you'd better be taking them seriously. According to an Audi insider as reported by Auto Motor und Sport in Sweden, the more powerful R8 will set a new lap record for a production car at the Nurburgring. That would mean coming in under the 7:26 lap time claimed by the Corvette ZR1 (and taken by the Pagani Zonda F), and faster than the Nissan GT-R's 7:29, but the big question remains whether it could out-gun the GT-R V-Spec's purported 7:25.
The R8 V10 – with whatever name it will adopt – is expected to make its production-guise debut at the Paris Motor Show this coming October. That'll make for some delicious eye-candy, but the real treat will be to see how the German supercar holds up against the Americans and the Japanese on the 'Ring.
Reports from the world of motorsport indicate that Michael Schumacher has totaled a new Ferrari prototype at the nefarious Nurburgring Nordschleiffe. According to the reports, Ferrari had rented out the track for the day when the team's former champion took out the test mule based on the 430 Scuderia that Schumacher himself helped develop. Just days after taking laps around Fiorano in the new California and presenting it to dealers in Maranello, Schumacher reportedly went off the damp track at over 250 km/h (155 mph) at the high-speed Schwedenkruz corner and hit a guard rail, severely damaging the car and forcing the test crew to switch to a second vehicle. Sources suggested that Schumacher had his son Mick riding shotgun at the time of the crash, however alternative reports suggest that factory test driver Raffaele DeSimone was driving, with Schumacher riding shotgun.
Although no official word has been given, it would seem that Schumacher escaped the incident uninjured, rendering the outcome of his shunt on "the Green Hell" better than that of his predecessor Niki Lauda, who nearly did in a fiery crash on the track some 32 years ago. As to what the prototype was being used to develop, however, is up to speculation: it could be the successor to the F430 or a new supercar to replace the discontinued Enzo.
The undisputed champion of hydrogen fuel cell SUVs at the Nurburgring has been crowned: the Nissan X-Trail FCV. The winning time: 11:58. Of course, it's the winning time because it's the only time -- a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has never ran the 'Ring before.
After piloting the 120 bhp X-Trail around the world for two years, Nissan engineer Frank Eickholt, decide it was time to take it to the track. The €1.3 million X-Trail was apparently hampered by moist tarmac, so you can expect a redo at some point in the future. Just when you thought the 'Ring craze was as hot as it could get, here come the hydro-powered vehicles to... pour some water on it...
In this automotive day and age, any vehicle that has even a trace amount of performance in its DNA has to make the rounds around the Nurburgring. The new Chevy Camaro SS isn't exempt. So after GM revealed the Camaro on Monday, one of the scribes at InsideLine ran up to an engineer to find out what kind of time the Camaro put down at the Nordschleife. According to Doug Houlihan, GM's chief engineer for global rear-wheel-drive vehicles, the Camaro SS ran the 'Ring in 8:20.
To put that into perspective, the recently released 2008 Cobalt SS did the deed in 8:22, along with the BMW E46 M3 and the last generation BMW M Coupe, followed by the Lotus Exige S and Porsche Cayman S at 8:25.
Ed Welburn, GM'S veep of global design, concedes that the Camaro's shape is merely adequate from an aerodynamic standpoint, with a coefficient of drag on the SS of 0.35 and on the LS/LT models of 0.36 – largely a result of the recessed headlamps and full-width grille.
Houlihan went on to say that their time at the 'Ring allowed them to dial in the steering response and suspension settings, and that the StabiliTrak traction control system on the Camaro will be the best GM can offer. Settings on the SS model allow drivers to choose between track and performance modes, along with completely disabling the system. A launch control feature will also be available on the SS.
It looks like a regular STI, right? Well, according to the spies at KGP, it's not. This is actually the forthcoming Impreza WRX STI spec C out for a cruise in some approipriately sloppy weather. Note the white wheels and reworked rear diffuser, which are the visual giveaways in this case. When the spec C arrives, it should tip the scales at around 150 to 200 pounds less than the regular STI and be further augmented with engine upgrades and improved braking. That'll make for a nice neighborhood rally car, indeed. All you'll need is a little snow, some studded rubber, and someone yelling directions at you in Finnish from the passenger seat to really bring that WRC experience home. For the rest of you, just ask your wives to ride shotgun. They'll be shouting directions at you (though probably not in Finnish) in no time. Check out the attached gallery for more shots, both on the street and on the Nordschleife (on a nicer day).
Not only is team Corvette taking shots at the Nissan GT-R, besting its 'Ring time in the process, so is Acura with its well-publicized NSX replacement. Though we've seen more spy shots, renderings and videos than you can shake a stick at, there are a few more renderings over at 7Tune if you are so inclined. What's more interesting, though, is news that the 5.5L V10 engine expected under the hood of the supercar will include relatively aggressive cylinder deactivation technology. The V10 will reportedly be able to cut its cylinder count in half by running as a 2.75L inline five-cylinder when its full capacity isn't needed. We would imagine that would be quite often, as the car's expected power output of six-hundred horses attests.
In what seems like a highly unlikely possibility, some sources are also reporting that a version of the V10 engine from the NSX could see duty in a future Acura RL sedan. Considering that the RL has never featured anything more than six cylinders underhood, this would be an extremely radical departure for Acura. In other words, don't hold your breath.
The Nurburgring is the most famous and grueling track on the planet. In the past, the 'Ring didn't get much attention aside from track day hoons and the occasional manufacturer test, but lately the big test has been to get around the circuit with the best time possible. Nissan's GT-R lapped the 'Ring in a stunning 7:29:03, which blew the doors off of vehicles costing four-times as much. The 638 hp Corvette ZR1 became the new Nordschleife leader with a 7:26.4 time, but talk about the actual start time of both vehicles has kept message boards and our comments section popping.
The guys over at Garage419 settled the question by syncing up the two videos at the pit exit sign and playing them side by side. They also provided a single master timer to ensure that the times are as accurate as possible. Hit the jump to view both laps at the same time. It's fun to see which vehicle handles curves and strait-aways better, and a clear winner is established.
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Alrighty folks. Here it is. The General has released the in-car footage of the Corvette ZR-1 lapping the Nurburgring in 7:26.4, hitting 180 mph at one point on the 12.9-mile course and beating out the Z06's time, set in 2005 by Jan Magnussen by almost 17 seconds. Jim Mero is behind the wheel and just as a reminder; the lap was done on the same Michelin Pilot Sport 2s as the production model, and retains the same ride height, engine calibrations and emissions equipment, along with running pump gas.
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