Nurburgring

Chronograph and 24-Hour Wristwatch from Nordschleife

When the time can be obtained from every cell phone or microwave, what exactly is the point of wearing a wristwatch these days? For some, it comes down to status symbol. Bragging rights. And as we've covered regularly on these pages, that's often tied in to the world of cars and racing.

There, the ultimate bragging rights come down to how fast a car can lap the vaunted Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. And to time it come two new timepieces from the Norschleife collection.

The Norschleife Chronograph (above at right) packs all the usual timing functions into a 43-millimeter case with mineral crystal, black dial and leather strap, while the innovative Nordschleife 24-Hour Wristwatch (above at left) displays the time across a full-day spectrum, the better for timing 24-hour endurance races. The German-made quartz timepieces retail for a reasonable 129 and 85 euros respectively.

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Tags: 24-hour, chronograph, Nürburgring, Nürburgring nordschleife, Nordschleife, nurburgring, Nurburgring nordschleife

Rare Racers at Ferrari Event in Nurburgring

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Sports

An incredible array of Ferrari race cars just converged on Germany's famed Nurburgring circuit for three days of test-driving under the legendary Italian marque's Corse Clienti department. 15 Ferrari 599XX and 4 Enzo-based Ferrari FXXs were joined on the track by 10 rare Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 cars, among the world's most desirable vehicles. Amongst them was the F190 raced by Nigel Mansell in the 1990 Formula 1 Championship; the 412 T1 with which Gerhard Berger won the 1994 German Grand Prix; the F300, which was the 45th car built by Scuderia Ferrari for the 1998 season, driven to six wins by Michael Schumacher; and the F2001, with which the German champion won nine races. Also present was the more recent F2007, which took both World titles for the Scuderia team. The beautiful thoroughbred racers are almost as much fun to look at as to drive.

Gallery: Ferrari Corse Clienti Event at Nurburgring

Tags: Ferrari, Ferrari 599XX, Ferrari FXX, Formula 1, Germany, Michael Schumacher, motor racing, Nurburgring, racing, supercar

Stunning '59 Ferrari 250 Tour TdF Race Winner for Auction in Monterey

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Some classic automobiles are sought after for their beauty. Others for their pedigree. This particular example is making headlines for both.

Stunning as it is in pristine condition with its original red and orange livery with original racing number, that only conveys the racing heritage behind this particular 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France. In the same year as its construction, chassis number 1321 took first in its class and third place overall at Le Mans and won the 1000km Nurburgring race as well.

Since then it's only changed hands a handful of times, and will now be auctioned off by Mecum in Monterey, California, during the Pebble Beach concours weekend, following its first public showing in nearly twenty years.

Gallery: 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France

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Tags: 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France, auction, ferrari, le mans, mecum, monterey, nurburgring, pebble beach

Lexux LFA Nürburgring Package Confirmed, Priced at $445k

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A few months ago we brought you initial reports of an even more hardcore, performance oriented version of the LFA supercar. Now Lexus has confirmed the package with official details, availability and pricing information.

Called the Nürburgring Package, named after the famous German race track where the LFA race car cut its teeth, the extra-special supercar benefits from a 10-horsepower boost, quicker transmission shift times and a revised aerodynamics package.

Only 50 examples will be offered at a $70,000 premium over the standard LFA's $375,000 list price. But at such limited quantities, good luck getting your hands on one.

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Tags: lexus, lexus lfa, lexus lfa Nürburgring, lexus LFA Nürburgring Package, lexus lfa nurburgring, lexus lfa nurburgring edition, Lexus LFA Nurburgring Package, lexus lfa nurburgring track edition, Nürburgring, Nurburgring

Aston Martin Rapide Heading to the Nurburgring 24

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you're one of the skeptics still bemoaning Aston Martin's decision to produce a four-door model, the British sportscar-maker has got another surprise in store for you. The Rapide is getting ready to attack one of the most grueling races on the face of the earth.

After having won the production-based SP8 category the past two years running at the Nurburgring 24 hour race with versions of the Vantage coupe, the Rapide will be the car of choice for this year's team. Bearing only minor modifications from the model you can order from your local dealer, the Rapide will be piloted by none other than Aston Martin's CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez along with a team of factory personnel at the upcoming race. Will Aston manage to repeat the victory with four doors? Keep your eyes peeled on May 15-16 to find out.

Gallery: Aston Martin Rapide

Tags: 24 hour race, aston, aston martin, aston martin rapide, dr. ulrich bez, Nurburgring, nurburgring 24, Nurburgring24, rapide, sp8, ulrich bez

Lexus LFA Nürburgring Track Edition

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

With its six-figure price-tag and otherworldly performance, the Lexus LFA charts new territory for the Japanese luxury brand. But as it turns out, Lexus isn't stopping there, as reports from the Land of the Rising Sun bring us the hard-core, track-focused LFA Nurburgring edition.

Named after the famous German road course on which the racing prototypes that gave birth to the LFA first competed, the LFA Nurburgring track edition reportedly benefits from carbon fiber spoilers front and rear, new wheels and tires, a stiffer suspension and a 10-horsepower boost. Only four colors will be offered, and production is expected to come out of the 500-car allotment originally earmarked by Lexus. Stay tuned for more details.

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Tags: lexus, lexus lfa, lexus lfa nurburgring, lexus lfa nurburgring edition, lexus lfa nurburgring track edition, lexus lfa track edition, lfa, nurburgring

RS Academy is a Supercar Club that Emphasizes the "Super"

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

In almost any city where supercars gather in their sinister red, black, and yellow broods, you will find supercar clubs. Most clubs, though, are like settling for a zoo instead of going on safari: you save yourself some time and money only to be cheated out of seeing what an animal can really do. And just as you'll learn little by watching a hippo in its air conditioned paddock, you'll know next to nothing about a Ferrari F430 Challenge stuck on road duty and date nights.

Enter RS Academy, a supercar track club with some of the finest vessels made for carving up kerbs, as well as entry to three of the best tracks in the world for doing just that: Germany's Nurburgring, Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, and the members only Ascari Race Resort in Spain. The club keeps a fleet of cars at each track so that all you need to do is show up with a helmet and a Zen-like focus on the finest racing line. Along with the aforementioned Ferrari, the fleet includes the Caterham R500 Superlight, BMW M3 CSL, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, and Radical SR3. When you're at Ascari, you have access to the that club's Spanish fleet as well.

The Academy is hosting taster days at the Ascari Race Resort in Marbella this month for sampling the club's offerings at an in-house venue. Annual subscriptions begin around £12,000, and come in three varieties. If you want to make the most of your time behind the wheel, RS maintains 12 instructors among the three tracks who will guide you to a racing license and, if you're good enough, a seat in the RS Academy race team. Between the tracks, the cars, the Jedi-racer trainers -- and did we mention Marbella? -- not even Speed Racer had it this good.

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Tags: ascari, driving, nurburgring, racing, rs academy, RsAcademy, spa francorchamps, SpaFrancorchamps, supercars

The Record-Breaking Radical SR8LM

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Once upon a time, racers would drive their race cars to the track on public streets, lap them around the track, win a race or two, then drive them back home. Stricter regulations have put an end to that and driven a wedge between racing cars and street-legal cars, but Radical wants to bridge the gap. The British performance garage makes road cars that are as close to racing cars as anyone's ever made. They're extreme. They're ridiculously impractical. And they're unprecedentedly fast.

Their latest product is the SR8LM. It packs a 455hp engine made from two motorbike engines, and if it looks like a Le Mans Prototype racer, that's because it very nearly is. Radical drove one down from their factory in England to the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife in pursuit of a new record. They already held the record for street-legal cars around the benchmark racing circuit, but they wanted to set the bar even higher. And that's just what they did, with a blistering lap time of 6 minutes, 48 seconds. To put that into perspective, even the most extreme exotic supercars don't break below the seven-minute mark. Not by a long shot. The 360hp SR8 did it a few years ago, but the SR8LM proved even faster. Best of all, you can buy one yourself, and in some places at least, drive it home when you're done on the track.

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Tags: lap record, LapRecord, nurburgring, radical, radical sr8, radical sr8lm, RadicalSr8, RadicalSr8lm, sr8, sr8lm

Aston Martin Opens its First Store at the Nurburgring

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Cars & Autos

If you're visiting the famed Nurburgring race track in Germany and looking for a souvenir or two, a recent expansion of the facility includes a shopping mall called the Grand Ring Boulevard. That's where Ferrari opened its new merchandise store – its first in Germany and its first track-side store – just the other day, and it's also where rival automaker Aston Martin has set up its very first shop.

Boasting the same 2,400 square meter space as the Ferrari Store, the Aston Martin Store Nurburgring is stocked with all manner of merchandise from clothing and accessories to models and artwork. Aston brought in the first production model of its upcoming One-77 million-dollar supercar for the grand opening, but if you couldn't make it then and aren't planning a trip to Germany any time soon, you can always check out the full Aston Martin Collection at astonmartin.com.

Gallery: Aston Martin Store Nurburgring

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Tags: aston, aston martin, aston martin nurburgring, aston martin store, aston martin store nurburgring, aston nurburgring, aston one-77, AstonMartin, AstonMartinNurburgring, AstonMartinStore, AstonMartinStoreNurburgring, AstonNurburgring, AstonOne-77, nurburgring

Latest Ferrari Store Opens at Germany's Nurburgring

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Cars & Autos

Ferrari may have started out as a racing team, but today its operations are clearly divided into three areas: the Scuderia racing department, the road car division that makes those irresistible sportscars, and the merchandising operation that produces all those baseball caps and scarlet electronics that have grown to be so popular. And to sell them, Ferrari has a growing network of dedicated stores in locations around the world. During this past weekend's German Grand Prix, the team's drivers cut the ribbon on the company's latest retail location right on the site of the famed Nurburgring race track in Germany.

The store covers 240 square meters of space at the new track-side complex and includes retail space, a business conference room and lounge space overlooking the track, along with an actual F1 car on display in full view. It's one of 40 new locations which Ferrari is planning on opening over the next three years in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia, but is the first location situated next to a racing track and the first in Germany.

Tags: eiffel, ferrari, ferrari store, ferrari store nurburgring, FerrariStore, FerrariStoreNurburgring, germany, nurburgring