(This story was originally posted on our sister publication MotoringFile almost one year ago to the day. With the obvious interest in the ‘Ring from many BF readers, we thought it was appropriate to repost it here.)
Driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife has been my dream for years. It’s a goal for many auto enthusiasts akin to climbing Everest. The longest and most challenging track in the world, the Nordschleife (North Loop) is unlike anything else in the world. And today, I drove it.
In a word, it was incredible. More than I could have hoped for. The atmosphere, the people and finally the track met and exceeded all my expectations. I split my time between riding in a race-prepped E30 BMW 3 Series, a race-prepped 250bhp R53 Cooper S and driving a brand new R56 Cooper S.
The Nordschleife Nurburgring has been synonymous with the BMW brand since the 1930’s. BMW and its products are probably more closely tied to the ‘Ring than any other manufacturer. Every car BMW designs and engineers ultimately makes its way to the ‘Ring for what some would consider the most important part of its development process.
The beauty of the Nordschleife is that you can actually drive any street legal car on it much of the year. All it takes is around $30 and you have a chance to tackle the most famous (and perhaps dangerous) track in the world. Having driven it in the past I can tell you that there is simply nothing that can totally prepare you for the experience. No matter how great video games have become, there is no way they can match the sensation of the real track. And beyond that the paddock area is about as close to automotive heaven as you can get. Every kind of car from every manufacturer is there in one of the best impromptu car shows you’ll ever see.
Here’s some low-hanging fruit for our latest in our ‘Ring on the Web series. Yes it’s a little MINI focused for a BMW site but there some BMW related eye candy in the ‘Ring paddock and of course a good portion of a lap to take enjoy.
Our second in a series on the Nurburgring, this official BMW video is a behind the scenes look at a test driver doing final checks on the E90 M3 before it’s release.
We just couldn’t not post this photo. It comes via our friend Axel and is the latest ‘Ring rental from Rent-racecar.de. However as you can imagine the 135i is in demand and because of this you can only rent it for a half day at a time for 499 Euros.
To put that in perspective, you could get a E92 325i coupe for 390 Euros and just another 200 for the entire day. Of course keep in mind that they only include enough miles for four and a half laps for four hours before you start getting charged by the km. No one ever said fun was cheap.
For the uninitiated, you can read more about the Nurburgring here. And be sure to click on the photo above for a larger version.
I suppose I should start this series by saying I (like a few other writers on the site) am mildly obsessed with the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Having read about the track for years, experiencing on GT4 and then finally driving it for the first time last year, it’s become a staple of my automotive fascination. And with BMW’s historical connection to the track, I thought a look at some of the better ‘Ring related sites out there is in order.
One of my favorites is Ausringers.com. It’s an Australian based site about every aspect of the ‘Ring. A highly recommended addition to any BMW enthusiast’s RSS reader.
BimmerFile is dedicated to bringing you the most interesting news, links and reviews related to the BMW brand and it's vehicles.
We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: Nürburgring Jul 2nd, 2008 2 Comments 
