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The Nurburgring Looks Different from Inside a Van: Opel Vivaro "Hot" Lap

Ever wondered what your German plumber does in his spare time? Sure, there are plenty of answers to that question, but we'd like to focus on one that would float any enthusiast's boat - perhaps the man likes to throw his van around on the Nurburgring.
Opel Vivaro lapping the Ring 1 photo
Photo: Youtube screenshot
While that may sound highly unlikely, drivers who enjoy the charms of the Nordschleife in their blue collar machines are a reality. And, to show you how such an experience looks like, we've brought along the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, which shows an Opel Vivaro lapping the 'Ring.

The video offers us an in-car view, so you can almost feel the way in which the whole car is sweating when going through the Carousel, for instance - hopefully, the re's no cargo in the back.

Since van drivers, regardless of their actual occupation, spend plenty of time inside their vehicles, we think it's only natural for these guys to take the manhandling game to a whole new level. Heck, we could even go for a far stretch and expect such track time to act as a defensive driving bonus, reducing the chances of a crash under normal driving conditions. Of course, this only applies to drivers who visit the track at least a few times per year.

And since we're talking about the Nurburgring, we have to also add a lap time. This Opel gets from Bridge to Gantry in 11:38, but we'll need a benchmark and van times aren't exactly a trend. However, we can use Sabine Schmitz's famous under-ten-minutes Ford Transit 'Ring challenge as the yardstick.

P.S.: You shouldn't expect van laps to be hassle-free and here's an example of how things can go wrong in a front-wheel-drive commercial vehicle such as the one we have here (yes, we're going to show you an Opel Vivaro Nurburgring crash).

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
Andrei Tutu profile photo

In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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