Photo: SB-Medien
No, the management of the Nurburgring has not specifically stated that carmakers can’t attempt to set new lap records. Things don’t work that way. Instead, the people handling the Green Hell have enforced stronger speed restrictions this week, which means that any record attempt is now compromised.
We found out about the velocity limitations from the team who is producing the APEX movie, a Sony-collaboration 4K documentary that follows the past three years of efforts done by automakers who battle it out on the halo car level.
The motion picture has followed the efforts of the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. This week was supposed to be the one when Koenigsegg would fully stretch the legs of its One:1 on the Nordschleife and the team was ready to capture everything on camera, but the Swedish carmaker is now stuck due to the new restrictions.
From that point on, the officials have continued to update the list of restrictions for high-speed sections of the Green Hell. The Nurburgring management stated the speed restrictions situation will be assessed at the end of the year, but this means any carmaker attempting to set a lap record in 2015 has to freeze such operations.
Which brings us to Koenigsegg. As we said, the Swedes were planning to unleash their 1hp-per-1kg hypercar onto the Green Hell this week. However, when a high-speed section like Tiergarten has a 200 km/h (124 mph) limitation and Christian von Koenigsegg estimated their Megawatt (13 hp) machine could hit 300 there, you’ve got a unstoppable-force-meets-unmovable-object issue.
We’ll remind you the One:1 has recently set a new world record for the 0-300-0 km/h run, with the hypercar being so stable that the driver didn’t need to keep his hands on the wheel.
Sure, we can’t expect VW to accept Koenigsegg’s proposal of using the German company’s Ehra-Lessien high-speed track to take the One:1 to the max, but things are still questionable.
Perhaps the best example here is the Lamborghini Aventador SV (the Raging Bull is owned by Audi, remember?), which reportedly completed its sub-7-minute record... one day ahead of a new restriction.
The Nurburgring has gone through multiple ownership issues over the last few years, which had led to certain question about the trust that can be placed in its managers. The track is now owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Kharitonin.
The motion picture has followed the efforts of the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. This week was supposed to be the one when Koenigsegg would fully stretch the legs of its One:1 on the Nordschleife and the team was ready to capture everything on camera, but the Swedish carmaker is now stuck due to the new restrictions.
Why are they putting a leash on the ‘Ring?
This sad story started earlier this year, when a Nissan GT-R racecar crashed during a VLN race. While, Jann Mardenborough, the driver, survived the accident, a spectator was killed. The crash took place in the Flugplatz area, with the track management reacting by imposing a speed limit.From that point on, the officials have continued to update the list of restrictions for high-speed sections of the Green Hell. The Nurburgring management stated the speed restrictions situation will be assessed at the end of the year, but this means any carmaker attempting to set a lap record in 2015 has to freeze such operations.
Which brings us to Koenigsegg. As we said, the Swedes were planning to unleash their 1hp-per-1kg hypercar onto the Green Hell this week. However, when a high-speed section like Tiergarten has a 200 km/h (124 mph) limitation and Christian von Koenigsegg estimated their Megawatt (13 hp) machine could hit 300 there, you’ve got a unstoppable-force-meets-unmovable-object issue.
We’ll remind you the One:1 has recently set a new world record for the 0-300-0 km/h run, with the hypercar being so stable that the driver didn’t need to keep his hands on the wheel.
Conspiracy theory
With Koenigsegg aiming to one-up the Porsche 918 Spyder’s official 6:57 record and Christian expecting to put a double-digit hap between the One:1 and the Porsche, certain voices claim the VW Group is making efforts to Keep the small Swedish carmaker from showing the world what its machine can achieve.Sure, we can’t expect VW to accept Koenigsegg’s proposal of using the German company’s Ehra-Lessien high-speed track to take the One:1 to the max, but things are still questionable.
Perhaps the best example here is the Lamborghini Aventador SV (the Raging Bull is owned by Audi, remember?), which reportedly completed its sub-7-minute record... one day ahead of a new restriction.
The Nurburgring has gone through multiple ownership issues over the last few years, which had led to certain question about the trust that can be placed in its managers. The track is now owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Kharitonin.
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