The Nurburgring is one of the most valuable pieces of tarmac in the world. And unlike say a decade ago, there are people with filming equipment at each and every big corner. So brand new prototypes have nowhere to hide.
The more track-oriented a car is, the more time it usually spends at the Nordschleife. Audi Sport recently revealed that its RS cars undergo 8,000 km (4,970 miles) of torture tests. But other companies are doing pretty much the same thing.
This condensed Nurburgring spy video starts off with a quick shot of the most hardcore Jaguar currently in development. The XE Project 8 being developed by firm's Special Vehicles Operations division is powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine that makes 600 horsepower.
It follows in the footsteps of 2014's F-Type Project 7 and will be unveiled on Wednesday 28 June, so don't get too attached to the camouflage. Speaking of the supercharged 5.0L, the video also shows the 2018 Range Rover Sport SVR, which we haven't seen for a few months. That one should pack 575 horsepower and corners surprisingly flat for an SUV.
For whatever reason, the Acura people are still making the NSX jump through hoops. It could be that they're working on a Type R model or some other track-focused incarnation. But our favorite sighting is the all-new Bentley Continental GT coupe. We're talking about the platform from the Porsche Panamera, resulting in a significant weight reduction. The prototype seems to have oval exhausts, so it's powered by that monster of a twin-turbo W12 engine.
However, we wouldn't be disappointed with a V8 either. And an eight-cylinder is probably what the Aston Martin DB11 prototype packs. The British GT with a German twin-turbo has the whole luxury market worried, but BMW is ready to retaliate with its most expensive car, the 8 Series Cabriolet. It doesn't look exotic enough for us, but that could just be down to the camouflage.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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