Not only those who drive a sports car want to drive the Nordschleife if they have petrol in their veins. This fabulous race track in the Eifel, which is considered one of the toughest in the world. But be careful, the face of the course can change depending on the weather. And that can push the driver to the limit, even in a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.
The Nordschleife is a magical place for every motorsport fan. Almost mystical, one might say, because not only do the records set here mean accolades for the manufacturers of the vehicles, it is also the nickname “Green Hell” that makes this little more than 20 kilometers so fabulous. The 73 curves and their climbs of up to 18 percent, as well as the sections with a gradient of up to 11 percent, can be easily mastered in good weather and with the right car.
Alright. A Porsche 911 Carrera GTS is joined by a Nordschleife-calibrated instructor during a race track training session, who rushes ahead at full speed, but always with a keen eye in the rear-view mirror and sets the line. Runs, one can only say. The third edition of the 911 GTS is so powerful, so dynamic and so independent on the track that the driver actually seems to be just a decorative accessory to the car.
The turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine delivers 480 hp and pushes the rear wheels with a maximum torque of 570 Newton meters. The power is distributed by the unique eight-speed dual clutch transmission (PDK). The electronics ensure a fine double-declutching, so that the speed is always where it is needed in order to accelerate out of the bends in a flash, in which you have previously poked clean.
The steering wheel feels so good in the hands, gives the driver the feeling of being the master of the car, letting it prance almost playfully. Yes, there is even time to play with the driving modes. Switching from Sport to Sport Plus to let the ESP take a back seat. Enjoying the feeling when the rear turns out of the curve when accelerating a little too early, only to then presumably skilfully catch it again. Not realizing that the electronics are also sensitively involved here.
The high spirits of the safety that the 911 GTS exudes is so great that the Sport Response button is pressed again and again to switch the response of the engine and transmission to maximum performance for 20 seconds. In just 3.3 seconds, the bolide can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h and if the topography and, above all, the ability allow it, a top speed of 309 km/h would probably also be possible on the Nordschleife.
It’s running, no – it’s running. Thanks to Suspension Management or PASM for short, the dampers react to dynamic changes at lightning speed and it turns out that on the rather uneven course in the Eifel it is better to choose the normal position and not the race track hardness, the Sport or Sport Plus provide. And if there is a slight misalignment, the torque vectoring intervenes with targeted braking interventions on the rear wheels.
But beware if the track changes its face, if it turns from a fun course into the “Green Hell”. That happens exactly when it starts to rain, to pour. When the spray from the man in front blocks your view. If the new asphalt in deep black does not show where the aquaplaning is lurking, the bolide floats up and spins out of nowhere and on the straight like a spinning top. The electronics of the Porsche knew it beforehand. As a warning, she asks to use the wet mode, the rain mode, in order to be able to take the torque from the rear axle, which now feels really gigantic.
But please, that’s a 911, that’s the Nordschleife. There is no slow here. Whoever brakes is afraid, and whoever is afraid loses! The ideal line now becomes the rain line, which simply means that it is crossed. Of course, the pace is slowing down. Lap times no longer have to be measured here. The focus is only on the car. What was so easy in the dry, because the electronics took over the shifting, traction was maintained by the torque vectoring, the car straightened itself out as if by magic after tail-wagging, is now suddenly difficult. Becomes a good part of the pilot’s job.
He has to use the shift paddles to decide which gear to use to get out of the curve. And it is advisable to take the next higher one. The electronics don’t care. It is calibrated for lap times, for maximum performance and power. But if the car breaks out here, even the best torque vectoring is worth nothing. When the wet meadow is reached and the tires lose grip, then only physics have an effect. In fact, it’s Newton’s first law, force equals mass times acceleration, that’s putting the pilot in dire straits here.
Little things can cause it. For example, the slightest crossing of a wet shoulder, in which the right drive wheel loses all grip, while the left drive wheel bites so hard on a dry piece of land that the car takes a millisecond to go in a direction that is off the circuit and the proud driver of the 911 GTS and vehicle become a plaything of forces. Or to put it another way: “A body remains in a state of rest or uniform linear motion unless it is forced to change its state by acting forces.”
The bad thing about such a situation is that you can’t really blame a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. The car is beyond any doubt. In the end, it can do more than the pilot in this case, but he has to be alert and focused. Because the smallest mistake can decide whether you reach the finish line or are eliminated. In this respect, anyone who can start their journey home safely and unscathed with their darling, which costs at least 140,000 euros, after a rain training session on the Nordschleife can count themselves lucky. Not only did he prove that he drove intelligently, he also understood the language between track, driver and car in extreme situations.
On the way home he also has the opportunity to think about whether it’s contemporary to burn 23 liters over 100 kilometers of race track. Nevertheless, he can stare in surprise at the electronic consumption display, which shows him an average consumption of 6.8 liters over land at an almost constant 80 km/h. Almost seven liters for a three-liter six-cylinder? Not even half as big three-enders can do that in small cars.
At the end of a journey over 1200 kilometers, with plenty of fast driving sections of the motorway, the internal computer came up with almost 11 liters. Which means nothing other than that the 643 kilometers from the Nürburgring to home could be covered with the large tank and one filling. It’s much easier to get over the excess consumption in the Green Hell.
