Ferrari Opens Dedicated Store at the Nurburgring Circuit

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.

Porsche Panamera Turbo Allegedly Laps the Nurburgring in 7:56 , Beats the CTS-V by 3 Sec

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!

Nissan 370Z Nurburgring Edition: Found at Nissan's New Sportscar Shop at the 'Ring

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.

VIDEO: 2010 Nissan GT-R's 7:26.70 Record Lap Time at the Nurburgring

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:

• 7 minutes 27 seconds 56 on April 15, 2009
  
• 7 minutes 29 in April 2008
  
• 7 minutes 38 in September 2007

Nurburgring Webcam Captures Prototype Models

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?

BMW 1-Series M Coupe Allegedly Laps the Nürburgring in 8:12" Making it Faster than E46 M3

The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is pretty fast on paper. Reaching the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in just 4.7 seconds is no small feat, but nowadays, it seems that performance cars need to have a respectable “Ring” time under there belt to command respect. Now, a forum member of the 1Addicts fan site who calls himself "SteveD" claims that the Ring time for the 335-horsepower strong M model is 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

If true (and according to the Nürburgring lap times list posted on Wikipedia), this means the entry-level M model is 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3, on par with the E86 Z4 M Coupe, but 7 seconds slower than the E92 M3 .

Of course, just because something is posted on a forum, doesn’t necessarily make it true. However, it seems that “SteveD” is none other than Steve Davies, a UK journalist who writes for Skiddmark. When asked where did he received the info, "SteveD" wrote “directly from BMW when we filmed the car”.

And indeed, Skiddmark does feature a piece about the 1-Series M Coupe and it contains the information posted on 1addicts. Still, we’re going to take this one with a grain of salt until we have the official confirmation.

You can see how the 1 Series M Coupe's alleged 'Ring lap time compares with other models from BMW and other makers in the list below.

By Csaba Daradics

Nurburgring Lap Times as Posted on Wikipedia:

• E46 M3 CSL - 7:50

• E90/E92 M3 - 8:05

• E63 M6 - 8:09

• 1 series M coupe - 8:12

• Z4 M-Coupe - 8:12

• E60 M5 - 8:13

• Alpina B3 Biturbo - 8:14

• Z4 M-Roadster - 8:15

• Alpina Roadster S (Z4) - 8:15

• E46 M3 - 8:22

• 335i E92 Coupe - 8:26

Other Models Compared:

• 911 Carrera S PDK (997.5) - 7:50

• Audi R8 4.2 - 8:04

• Cayman S - 8:04 (by Walter Röhrl)

• Audi RS4 - 8:09

• Audi TT-RS - 8:09

• BMW 1 series M coupe - 8:12

• Aston Martin V8 Vantage - 8:13

• Mercedes C63 AMG PP - 8:13

• Corvette C6 - 8:15

• Cayman S - 8:16 (Sport Auto)

• Porsche Boxter S (987.5) - 8:18

• Lexus IS-F - 8:18

• 2010 VW Golf R - 8:23

• Audi S5 (2007) - 8:26

• Audi TT-S (2008) - 8:29

Back to the Future: Formula One Racecar Lapping the Nürburgring Circuit in 1967

The Nürburgring circuit is called “The Green Hell” for a good reason. Measuring 24.4 km (15.2 miles) in today’s combined version that uses a part of the Formula 1 track, it’s not an easy circuit to master. Complete a fast lap was even more difficult in the late ’60, when Formula 1 was nowhere near the high-tech parade it represents now. Back then, fearless drivers raced cars with skinny tires that had very few, if any safety features and weren't exactly easy to drive.

Check out the video after the break to see 1967 Formula 1 car running the Green Hell. At the time, the Nordschleife measured 22.8 km (14.2 miles) and had 174 turns.

VIDEO: 2010 VW Scirocco R 265HP Presentation at the Nurburgring

Parallel to the start of the 24-hour endurance race at the Nurburgring at the end of May, Volkswagen staged the world debut of its hottest Scirocco model ever that comes equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot cranking out 265HP and 350Nm of torque. This video that was shot during the presentation event includes the first driving footage of the new Scirocco R on the 'Ring as well as interviews with VW officials. Bear in mind though that the interviews are in German - and yes, those of you out there 'sprechen die Deutsche', feel free to enlighten us with your bilingual skills.