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For those of you wondering how these modifications affected the GT-R’s performance on the notorious Nordschleife, Nissan’s team managed to shave more than two seconds off the 2011MYs time of 7:26.4, dropping it to 7:24.22, allegedly in less than ideal conditions. You’ll have to skip to about 3:20 into the clip for the driving to begin.
We also found a edited film on Youtube that compares the 2012 GT-R and Corvette ZR-1 on the 'Ring in a split format, which was created by synchronizing the two videos at the pit exit. Watch both videos after the jump.
The 2011 edition of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid carries the geeky ‘Version 2.0’ moniker, and keeps the general layout of the 2010 model. The racer’s hybrid powertrain comprises of a 470HP 4.0-liter six-cylinder boxer engine at the rear and two electric motors driving the front wheels.
In the Version 2.0, the output of both electric motors has increased from 60kW (80HP) to 75 kilowatts (100HP) each, meaning that seconds at a time, pilots will now have an additional 200HP at their disposal.
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Volkswagen has announced that it will compete at this year's 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring with an all-new challenger, the freshly developed Golf24. The dramatic racing version of the Golf borrows the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine from sister company Audi's TT RS and RS3 models, modified to deliver 440-ponies and a maximum torque of 540Nm or 398 lb-ft. Power is transmitted to the permanent four-wheel drive by a sequential six-speed gearbox with paddle shift operation.
The last time Volkswagen fielded a factory Golf for the famous Nürburgring endurance race was in 2007, at which time, the 300HP, front-wheel drive Golf that delivered about 300 hp finished in eighth place overall. For the past three years, the Germans have been competing in the race with the Scirocco GT24.
"With the new Golf24 we are continuing our successful commitment at the Nürburgring 24-hour race," said VW Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "The event enjoys huge popularity, is one of the true classics in motorsport and, due to its extreme distance and unique race track, also represents a very big technical challenge, With our spectacular Golf we want to provide an additional highlight in front of a large audience – right in time for the 35th anniversary of the GTI this year."
The new Golf24 has already reeled off its first circuit miles in Portugal and Italy, but VW will continue the testing and development programme until the Nürburgring racing event that takes place from June 23 to 26.
Following in the footsteps of other automakers such as Nissan and Aston Martin, Ferrari has opened a new dedicated store at the Nurburgring race track. The 240 square meter Ferrari Store which happens to be the Italian firm's first shop in Germany, offers a wide variety of products from the Prancing Horse ranges for GT car customers as well as for enthusiasts while there's also a special lounge area for meetings and a relaxation area directly overlooking the circuit itself.
And if you have been wondering why so many makers have been opening stores lately at the 'Ring, the plan is to turn the world famous circuit into an all-year round "leisure and business center" - something like a 'Disney World' for car aficionados. For this reason, a great number of buildings are being added around the course including a dedicated shopping boulevard, an events and conference center and of course, hotels.
If the report on German magazine Sportauto is true and rally legend and Porsche test driver, Walter Röhrl, did indeed lap the Nordschleife track in 7 minutes and 56 seconds with the new Panamera Turbo, then there goes Cadillac's claim for having the fastest sedan on the block. We remind you that the 556HP CTS-V's 7:59.32 run of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in May 2008, was thought to be the fastest-ever lap time for a production sedan.
To refresh your memory, the Turbo is the fastest and most powerful version in the Panamera range. Fitted with Porsche's all-wheel drive system as standard, it is powered by a 4.8-liter turbocharged V8 that makes 500HP at 6,000 rpm and 700Nm or 516 lb-ft of torque from 2,500 to 4,500 rpm (770Nm or 567 lb-ft with overboost in conjunction with the Sports Chrono pack).
The Panamera Turbo reaches 100km/h (62mph) from rest in 4.2 sec or 4.0 sec with the Sports Chrono package, and can go on to a top speed of 303km/h or 188mph.
Aside from stirring fiery conversations on forum boards and websites as well as offering Porsche some bragging rights, we can't see any other use for these lap time records. Our opinion is that, as in the case of the Nissan GT-R and the Corvette ZR1, the Nordschleife lap times shouldn't be taken seriously by the majority of people that are actually interested in buying of one of these cars.
Via: Sportauto , Hat tip to Marcus!
It took us more time than usual, but what matters is that we finally managed to discover an example of Nissan's 370Z Nurburgring Edition that is offered exclusively in the German market in a limited run of 80 units. The special edition Z is pictured here alongside the standard GT-R and its hardcore sibling, the V-Spec model at Nissan's brand new Sportscar Shop at the Nurburgring.
The Japanese firm's newly found 500-square meter store that's packed with official merchandise from Nissan and it's motorsport division, Nismo, opened its doors to the public for the first time today, Thursday, July 9.
Not to be confused with the UK market 370Z Yellow Edition, the Nurburgring Edition comes in a 'Premium Ultimate Yellow' color with contrasting black graphics (somewhat more discreet than those of the British model) that are positioned just above the side skirts.
Each Nurburgring 370Z receives a new set of 19-inch OZ alloy wheels in a gunmetal finish that are wrapped in Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT rubber (255/40 R19 at the front, 285/35 R19 at the back), a performance Cobra exhaust system and a numbered plaque.
But that's about it as Nissan did not tamper with the 370Z's 3.7-liter V6 engine that continues to produce 331 'ponies' which are channeled to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
The base price for the special edition 370Z is €50,400 or approximately $70k at the current exchange rates between the Euro and the USD with Nissan offering buyers a €150 gift card to spend at its it Nurburgring shop.
We always enjoy watching cars lapping the Nurburgring's famous Nordschleife circuit but it's even better when you get the chance to see a supercar like the Nissan GT-R. This video, which was shot with an inboard camera, is from the 2010 GT-R's latest record breaking lap time of 7min 26.70 seconds that was achieved on April 23, 2009. The driver behind the steering wheel is Nissan's Chief test driver, Toshio Suzuki.
The Nissan GT-R's previous recorded lap times at the 'Ring' were:
The Nurburgring webcam (click here) is one of our favorite free-time activities as the fact that you never know what you're going to stumble upon makes it rather addicting. Just a few minutes ago, after a couple of bimmers, a Volkswagen Scirocco and a Ford Focus RS, we saw two camouflaged prototype models. We are not 100 percent sure, but we reckon that the first car up front is the 2010 Opel Astra followed closely behind by Buick's small-sized sedan. What's your guess?
The new 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS has unofficially lapped Nurburgring Nordschleife in 7min 33sec. That's still significantly slower than the current leaders, which include the Corvette ZR1 (7m26.4s), Gumpert Apollo (7m11.57s), Radical SR8LM (6m48s) and the highly disputed Nissan GT-R (7m27.56s), however, compared to the regular 911 GT3 it is a full seven seconds quicker.
