For many, Nürburgring is not just a small village, but the same name of a race track located in Germany. It was created and almost simultaneously tested by the racers of the general German automobile club in 1927. At the moment, the track is an excellent sports base for pilots in the GP2 and DTM categories. In addition, the track hosts annual tests of super-fast cars, whose manufacturers wish to set a personal record for the Nürburgring. About the brands of which cars received the title of the fastest, we will tell you in this publication.
A little digression into history
Initially, the Nurburgring track did not have a modern and heavy-duty surface. And the circuit itself included only four “rings”. These were the "United Loop" (Gesamtstrecke) with a length of 28.265 km, the "Northern Loop" - 22.810 km (Nordschieife), the "South Loop" - 7.747 km (Südschleife) and the "ring" Betonschieife used for warm-up driving cars before the race.
We remind you that the venue for regular motor racing competitions"Formula 1" was exactly the "Northern Loop" of the Nurburgring. Records on it were set by such famous racers as Michael Schumacher. This legendary driver is still considered the leader in the number of championship titles and Grand Prix victories in F-1.
What's special about the North Loop?
During its existence, the track has been repeatedly rebuilt and improved. Today it is the most sought-after place among amateur athletes who are fond of racing cars. It is here that pilots come every year to ride the professional track with the breeze.
In addition, they try to do it on tourist days, when you can not only use your car, but also rent a professional sports car. Many of the beginners are 100% sure that with due diligence, such training will subsequently help them set new Nurburgring records. However, their dreams are not always destined to come true.
Northern Loop as it is
The Nordschleife is considered not only the most famous, but also one of the longest race tracks on Earth. The track itself is located in a picturesque place among trees and forests. Its width is about 8-9 m. It contains reliable and high fenders equipped with a grid. According to many fans of fast driving, this track helps to thoroughly hone your driving skills.
She is famous for her exactingness to the pilots and unpredictability, as a result of which the track got a "talking"the name Green Hell (translated as "green hell"). At the same time, it is used not only by car enthusiasts, but also by racing car manufacturers who are ready to set their Nurburgring record during a test drive. According to them, it is this track that gives a chance to evaluate the real possibilities of a racing vehicle. According to preliminary data, the track consists of 40 right and 33 left turns of different difficulty levels.
Nürburgring record holders: who are they?
During its existence, the Nordschleife track has seen many racers and cars. However, many of the racers never managed to set the Nürburgring track record and leave their mark on the history of motor racing. Let's remember those winners who made it!
So, to this day, the leader position belongs to one of the latest Porsche models - Cayman GT4. This is a unique car equipped with a powerful 3.8-liter turbo engine, a six-cylinder engine with a capacity of 385 "horses", as well as modern mechanics.
Due to its internal design, the machine is very manoeuvrable and easy to control. Due to this, it is able to accelerate from standstill to 100-295 km / h in just 4.2 s. Not so long ago, it was this model that conquered the Nurburgring. The records that other racing drivers had set up to this point were finally broken. The car passed the circle of the "Northern Loop" in just 7 minutes and 40 seconds. It is for this reason that Porshe ranks first in the top five fastest cars on the Nürburgring.
The brightest leaders in the speed race: 2nd and 3rd place
The second place in the ranking of the fastest cars in the world, tested on the Nurburgring track, is occupied by Ford GT cars, Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06. Despite the fact that "Ford" drove the track in 7 minutes and 40 seconds, he could well become the winner of the race. At least this particular car has been a favorite for a long time. Both the manufacturers themselves and automotive experts around the world relied on it. But neither the 550 horsepower engine nor the ergonomic design of the car helped to realize the plan.
In third place we placed the Audi R8 V10, Pagani Zonda S and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The R8 V10 is a truly amazing sports car from Audi. It is equipped with a powerful engine of 525 hp. with. and has all-wheel drive.
Despite the manufacturer's stated desire to overtake the Porshe Cayman GT4, the Nürburgring track record was not broken. To everyone's dismay, the sports car lapped in 7 minutes and 44 seconds.
The handsome Pagani Zonda S, released in 2005, demonstrated a similar time to his fans. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS ended the race three seconds early. As a result, the judges recorded the time of passing the track, which is 7 minutes and 47 seconds. But this time, the Porsche came one second later than the Italian with a 6.2-liter engine and 640 hp. with. Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 E-Gear.
Closing link in the top five Nurburgring
In fourth place among the fastest cars we placedsuch a legendary model as the BMW M3 GTS, which completed the track in just 7 minutes and 48 seconds. Interestingly, it was BMW that for many years in a row occupied a leading position among powerful sports cars (this is also evidenced by the Nurburgring record table below).
The last place in the ranking of the fastest cars was taken by Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Cadillac CTS-V. Recall that the lap record at the Nurburgring for this "American monster" Dodge with an 8.3-liter engine and 500 horsepower was 7 minutes and 50 seconds. Another American giant Cadillac with an engine of 556 liters. with. passed the course 9 seconds late (7:59).
Thus, the undisputed leader of the race was the Porshe Cayman GT4, whose passing time in the sports car category was not beaten by other participants of the rally. At the moment, the aforementioned Nurburgring record set by the Porsche manufacturing company has not been beaten by anyone. What were the record holders of previous years?
Who are the 2013 race record holders?
The richest year in records is 2013. During this time, we managed to break previously set records in three classes at once in the Nordschleife race. A striking example of the nominees-participants two years ago was the "Italian" Alfa Romeo 4C. This spectacular and beautiful car with a powerful turbo engine can accelerate in 4.5 seconds to 250 km/h. During the race, the Alpha pilot (this time Horst von Saurma, a well-known sports columnist, was driving a sports car) managed to bring hisvehicle through the Loop in just 8 minutes and 4 seconds.
The second memorable car to set the Nürburgring electric record was the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive. It is noteworthy that this model drove a given distance in just 8 minutes with a small tail. At the same time, the pilot of the car finally managed to push the leader of the Audi R8 e-tron, which had not been replaced until a certain point, from the pedestal.
The "German" Porsche 918 Spyder became the leader among serial hybrids. He managed to overtake all his predecessors and pass the track in 6 minutes and 57 seconds. The Holden Commodore SS V Ute set its own record in the commercial and utility class, beating the other winner, the Audi R8 e-tron, by a minute and a half.
Nürburgring records: the most recent course record holders
In 2014, the Nissan GT-R Nismo won the high-volume sports car category. In 2013, an earlier version of the model completed its autotrack in just 7 minutes and 8.679 seconds. And exactly one year later, Japanese manufacturers managed to maintain this record, although they tried very hard to beat it.
In the same year, the new Honda Civic Type R, which was introduced in a series of front-wheel drive vehicles, managed to debut and at the same time break the speed record. The car passed the Northern Loop in 7 minutes and just over 50 seconds. This is just a small list of leaders who have already managed to declare themselves this year. However, 2015 has only just begun.so the number of record holders will also change. We hope that this time the Nürburgring records will exceed all expectations.
