Cadillac ATS' Super Bowl Ad Tells Everyone who Doesn’t Believe it Can Beat the 3-Series to go to "Green Hell"

Unlike Cadillac's previous failed attempts, the all-new ATS sedan was designed from a clean sheet to compete squarely against the best Germany has to offer in the executive compact sedan segment, namely the BMW 3-Series sedan – and possibly, the rest of the Bavarian model's range later on.

And if there's one thing GM's premium brand has been touting about the ATS more than anything else since it began teasing the car last summer, it's the fact that it's handling and driving dynamics were honed at the Nürburgring race track in Germany, which as most of you already know, is nicknamed "The Green Hell".

Read more »

Infographic: The Nürburgring Race Track by the Numbers

The big daddy of all racing circuits, the famed Nürburgring in Germany, is a must for all auto enthusiasts. It comprises of two racetracks, the modern Grand Prix Circuit built in 1984, and much longer old Northern loop (Nordschleife) which was nicknamed The Green Hell by three-time F1 world champion, Jackie Stewart.

The racetrack is open to all including automakers that often test their cars as well as the public that can take a risky shot at fame.

The folks at CarBuzz in the UK put together an infographic that shows us many interesting facts and numbers about the notorious Nürburgring, and which you can check out in detail after the break.

Read more »

A Year's Worth of Nissan GT-Rs at the Nürburgring

If you live within the European Union or at least in a neighboring country like Russia or Turkey, and you happen to own a Nissan GT-R (or any sports car, for that matte), the best place to thrash your car is without doubt the world famous Nürburgring race track in Germany.

And given the price of the GT-R, it shouldn't surprise anyone that many owners were indeed able to afford the trip and live the magic of the Nordschleife.

For the rest of us, we'll have to do with a four-minute long video prepared by a YouTube user, which includes many of the Nissan GT-Rs that were spotted on the 'Ring throughout the year. Enjoy the video right after the break.

Read more »

One Helluva Catfight: EVO Pits New Jaguar XKR-S against 1992 XJ220 at the Nürburgring

In the 1980s supercar battle, Ferrari had the raw F40, Porsche the highly sophisticated 959 and Jaguar had, well, nothing. That is, until its chief engineer, Jim Randle, decided to begin work on an unsanctioned project on a mid-engine, all-wheel drive Jag supercar.

The XJ220 concept, named after its 220 mph (350 km/h) claimed top speed, was unveiled at the 1988 British Motor Show. It sported a 6.2-liter version of Jaguar’s classic V12 engine with a quad-cam system developed for testing in the Le Mans XJR-9 racer and, as Randle envisioned, all-wheel drive.

Read more »

Cadillac Engineers Try to Perfect the 2013 ATS on the Nordschleife [Video]

In the third chapter of Cadillac's video series on the new 2013 ATS, the Detroit firm's engineers explain to us why they chose the Nürburgring racetrack to complete the development of their soon-to-be revealed compact sports sedan.

"There's no other facility in the world like this. You can accomplish more in one lap around the 'Ring than you can running probably a dozen tracks in the U.S." says David Mikels, energy and powertrain integration engineer for the Cadillac ATS.

Read more »

Dodge Viper GTS-R Race Car Reverse-Engineered to be Street-Legal

Usually, you hear about street-legal sports cars converted into racers but this time we have the exact opposite.

After acquiring a Zakspeed Racing Dodge Viper GTS-R in 2010, the current owner of the 1998 model turned to Heurich Classics, a Germany company that specializes in the maintenance, repair and optimization of vintage and classic cars.

The owner had two very special requests for Heurich Classics: recreate the looks of the Hasseroder Viper GTS-R that won the 24 hours of Nürburgring endurance race in 1999 and at the same time, make it completely street legal.

The German firm started out by eliminating, replacing, adding or modifying certain components of the Viper GTS-R to allow it to achieve road-legal status in Europe.

Read more »

Cadillac Puts the Video Spotlight on the 2013 ATS Sedan’s Engineering Team

The video teasing of the upcoming 2013 Cadillac ATS compact sedan continues with the fourth installment of the series that focuses on the engineers behind the development of the car with which GM hopes to compete head on with the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

The rejuvenated wreath and crest brand stresses that all engineers working on the upcoming ATS were "handpicked based on their roles in developing other top Cadillacs" and "how well they can drive and evaluate cars on grueling test tracks".

Read more »

Nissan Says it has No Knowledge of Video Showing 2013MY GT-R Lapping the Nordschleife in 7:21"

The first Nissan GT-R R35 kicked off a war of lap times on the Nürburgring with its 7:29.03 run that seems to be escalating with each new sport car that is launched.

We already know that Nissan has made some serious changes to the 2013MY (2012 for the rest of the world) GT-R. Despite the fact that it looks identical to the previous model both inside and out, under the skin, the 2013MY is even better as Nissan’s engineers have apparently been burning the midnight oil for quite some time.

Read more »

We Already Know What You Did Last Summer: New Video of 2013 Cadillac ATS at the ‘Ring

For some reason, General Motors is hell bent to show us what it did with the pug-faced 2013 Cadillac ATS prototypes on the famous Autobahn and the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany this past summer.

After a general teaser and the first episode, Cadillac has now released the second part of its video series, which documents the team of drivers and engineers that put Cadillac's new BMW 3-Series saloon contender through its paces.

Hop over the jump to get a look of the new video.

Read more »

GM Explains the Camaro ZL1's Special Aero Package [Video]

Ah, the Nurburgring; the Nordschleife; the Green Hell. Whatever you call it, it is today the de facto measure of any new sports car’s abilities, to the point where it has sparked some not so polite exchange of words between rival manufacturers.

The 580HP Camaro ZL1, which goes on sale in spring 2012, has of course tackled the famous track. Chevrolet didn’t expect it to outperform the top contenders, exotic supercars costing many times more than the Camaro. Nevertheless, it recorded a 7:41.27 lap time, reaching a top speed of 273 km/h (170 mph).

Read more »

Nissan Chief Engineer Says 2013MY GT-R has the Potential to Lap the Ring in Under 7:20" [+Videos]

During the media presentation of the tweaked 2013MY GT-R (to be sold as a 2012 model in markets outside North America) at the Sugo International Race Circuit in Japan, Nissan Chief Vehicle Engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno told journalists that the updated model has the potential to turn the Nürburgring circuit in under 7 minutes and 20 seconds.

We’ll remind you that the revised 2012MY GT-R shaved more than two seconds off the time of the 2011MY version dropping it from 7:26.4" to 7:24.22".

Read more »

2013 Cadillac ATS Sedan Development at the Nürburgring Track [Video]

It’s been roughly two weeks since Cadillac dropped the first teaser video of the 2013 ATS at the Nürburgring and now GM has the released the first full installment of its web series dedicated to the development of the premium compact sedan at the so-called "Green Hell".

The Detroit-based company's goal of course is to associate the ATS with its German competition, and specifically the new BMW 3-Series.

Read more »

Test Run Shows the McLaren MP4-12C Lapping the 'Ring in 7:28, Faster than the Ferrari 458 Italia

Carmakers don't use the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit only for testing prototypes, as you've seen many times in our scoop section, but also to time their cars and claim some bragging rights against their rivals.

This is one of those stories with the protagonist being the new McLaren MP4-12C sportscar that made its debut run on the Nordschleife with Horst von Saurma, Editor-in-Chief of German magazine Sport Auto, sitting behind the wheel.

Read more »

SPY SHOTS: Hotted Up Audi Q3 S/RS with 2.5-liter Turbo Takes to the 'Ring

A new flagship version of the Audi Q3 series is starting to take shape as the German company has begun testing prototype models of what may end up carrying the 'S', 'RS' or even perhaps a different moniker altogether on the famous Nürburgring racetrack.

We first received concrete proof that Audi is contemplating the development of a high-performance version of its Q3 compact crossover during a press event in Switzerland when the Ingolstadt-based automaker gave journalists the opportunity to drive a test model equipped with the force-fed five-pot found in the TT RS and RS3 models.

Read more »

SCOOP: Mystery Sport Lexus LS Caught Testing on the 'Ring, Could it be the LS-F?

Lexus may not be fully embroiled in the sports car segment as the only true performance models in its range are the IS-F and the limited run LFA special, but something tells us that the Japanese firm is not yet ready to throw the towel in and let its rivals take the win.

And this, despite the fact that over the years, we have heard many rumors about the possibility of Lexus expanding its range of high-performance F-badged lineup to include the GS and the LS models, and which never came into fruition.

This brings us to our mystery Lexus LS prototype that was snagged doing the rounds on the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. Our scoop photographers tell us that the car featured the usual testing equipment seen on other prototypes on the 'Ring.

Read more »

SCOOP: New Audi RS4 Avant Flexes its Muscles on the Nürburgring

While Audi's executive officers were showcasing the Ingolstadt-based firm's latest conceptual and production models such as the S6, S7, S8 and the Urban studies, the company's engineers were hard at work trying out a prototype of the upcoming RS4 series in Avant form.

The wider front and rear tracks hiding under blistered wheel arches along with the massive brakes, large alloy wheels and the typical RS-style twin oval tail pipes leave no doubt that this is the upcoming RS4 Avant model.

Read more »

SCOOP: 2013 Cadillac ATS Hits the Road for Testing

Here's another chance to take a look at the upcoming 2013 Cadillac ATS, GM's answer to the executive compact sedan segment dominated by the likes of BMW's 3-Series, the Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

And just in case you're wondering, the introduction of the ATS will lead to a larger next-generation CTS to better compete against cars like the BMW 5-Series and the latest Lexus GS.

Our scoop photographers captured the 2013 Cadillac ATS while testing in Europe. Even though the prototype is clothed in camouflage, we manage to get a taste of the car's size as well as Cadillac's edgy design language with prominent creases running along sides and the front and rear ends of the ATS.

Read more »

Video: Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition Laps the 'Ring in 7:14.64" Making it the 4th Fastest Production Car

After the news about the LFA Nürburgring Edition's lap time of 7:14.64 at Nordschleife racetrack started circulating around the web, Lexus decided today to confirm the feat with an official statement, and more importantly, in-car video footage.

The LFA Nürburgring Edition package is available only on 50 of the 500 LFA cars that are planned to be built.

Changes over the standard model include a more powerful 4.8-liter V10 with 571PS (+11ps), a faster 6-speed sequential transmission, carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic front apron and rear wing, a lower and more aggressively tuned suspension plus mesh-type alloys fitted with higher-grip tires.

Read more »

Infiniti Pits Vettel in M35h Hybrid Against Webber in M37 at the 'Ring

Infiniti is stepping up the ante in its collaboration with the Red Bull Racing team by pitting the reigning Formula One World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, against his team-mate, Mark Webber, in a race with the firm's M37 and M35h saloons at the Nürburgring Nordschleife to mark the start of European sales of the hybrid model. Read more »

Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition Posts a 7:14" Lap Time Around the 'Ring

It takes a lot of confidence to name a special edition of your car after the most demanding and famous circuit in the world. Even if said car is not some run-of-mill model, but a limited edition supercar. Enter the world of the LFA Nürburgring Edition, a track-oriented, hardcore version of the already awesome V10-powered Lexus supercar.

According to Tweets from Lexus Europe, the LFA lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 14 seconds making it the fourth fastest production car on the 'Ring (according to Wikipedia's record book).

Read more »