Why The Nurburgring Is The Home Of Automotive Development CarBuzz
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No, when it comes to the Nurburgring, the Nordschleife's topography makes it a unique test of many facets of a vehicle's setup. Nowhere else in the world does a single track provide such a varying degree of conditions. The Nordschleife, or Northern Loop, is a 12.93 mile track comprising 73 turns – 33 left and 40 right. As if the sheer number of turns wasn't enough to make you dizzy, there's the variance in track conditions. At its lowest point, Breidscheid, the Nordschleife's altitude of just 1050 ft. above sea level is low enough to give naturally aspirated engines almost full power with minimal losses. At its highest point, Hohe Acht, the Nordschleife peaks at 2024 ft. above sea level. That's nearly 1000 ft. in variance along a single lap. At its highest point, naturally aspirated engines start to become asthmatic, meaning from one point on the track to another, a vehicle's final power outputs can vary immensely. When it comes to tackling the maximum 17% gradients at certain points along the track, the loss in power, and the way an engine is tuned, becomes vital towards seeing how a vehicle would handle real world situations with steep inclines, and indeed performance at altitude in whichever market's a vehicle is shipped to.
Why The Nurburgring Is The Home Of Automotive Development
May. 07, 2018 7:15 AM ET by Roger Biermann Car Culture / 39 Comments It's not all about lap times. Among those au fait with motoring, and the enthusiasts we all are, the mere utterance of the name 'Nurburgring' is bound to spark debate. Not just general discussion, but a heated back and forth over lap times and manufacturer claims as to who's quickest. It's the ultimate Top Trumps for track cars – bragging rights above all else. Whether or not it's fair to judge a car by its Nurburgring time is another story altogether, but the Nurburgring is a vitally important aspect of car development. Every manufacturer, from Hyundai to Porsche, has a base of operations at the famed Green Hell. Even Ford, a brand who openly defies the notion of making bold claims as to Nurburgring times, regularly tests and hones its high performance vehicles on the circuit before releasing them on the road to the buying public. Why, though? What's the obsession with this one single circuit? Why not Laguna Seca, or Spa Francorchamps? There are a few very good reasons why the Nurburgring is the home of automotive development, with all of them combining to make the Nurburgring, and the Nordschleife in particular, a completely unique setting that tests every facet of a cars ability to ensure when it hits the road, it's more than ready.The Topography of Performance
Usually, when it comes to track driving we tend to look at things quite simply - limiting the basic information to whether a corner swings left or right, whether it's on camber or off camber, and to a small extent, whether a section is uphill or downhill. These little insights help regular track drivers eke out extra seconds where it counts. That's not what development as the Nurburgring is about though. Not every car is built to set hot lap times, and if every Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Camry was engineered to do so, we'd all have chiropractors on a monthly retainer.No, when it comes to the Nurburgring, the Nordschleife's topography makes it a unique test of many facets of a vehicle's setup. Nowhere else in the world does a single track provide such a varying degree of conditions. The Nordschleife, or Northern Loop, is a 12.93 mile track comprising 73 turns – 33 left and 40 right. As if the sheer number of turns wasn't enough to make you dizzy, there's the variance in track conditions. At its lowest point, Breidscheid, the Nordschleife's altitude of just 1050 ft. above sea level is low enough to give naturally aspirated engines almost full power with minimal losses. At its highest point, Hohe Acht, the Nordschleife peaks at 2024 ft. above sea level. That's nearly 1000 ft. in variance along a single lap. At its highest point, naturally aspirated engines start to become asthmatic, meaning from one point on the track to another, a vehicle's final power outputs can vary immensely. When it comes to tackling the maximum 17% gradients at certain points along the track, the loss in power, and the way an engine is tuned, becomes vital towards seeing how a vehicle would handle real world situations with steep inclines, and indeed performance at altitude in whichever market's a vehicle is shipped to.