[soulreaper_20]

Hello all,

Hope that you are liking the content I am sharing with you petrolhead BHPians. In continuation to the same and more from my 3-month Europe trip in 2018, this part is about Germany, one of the last countries that I visited before heading off the Holland and then back home. While there are many experiences that are still to follow, one of the highlights was my experience on the Nurburgring in a Porsche GT3 RS Ring Taxi. Here goes...

There are quite a few taxi rides that are on offer at the Nurburgring. Nowadays, you have an option to go for anything from a BMW M3 to a McLaren 720S, but the one that both suited my budget and appealed to me was the Porsche GT3 RS that is offered by Renn Taxi. The price - 275 Euros + onboard footage charges. Since I was doing a video on them as well, they gave me a 10% discount, which I neither expected, nor was the decider for my choice of car.

Things to note

On the Nurburgring, you also have an option to rent out a self-drive car. These range from Swift Sports to BMW M3... and even more. That said however, I wouldn't suggest any first timer who is going to the Nurburgring to opt for these due to the following reasons:

1. The Nurburgring is not an easy place to drive. Unlike other tracks, the Nurburgring is narrow, has more than 100+ corners, and has a lot of traffic that includes both cars and motorcycles on it coming at every possible speed

2. If you have a crash on the Nurburgring, you pay through your nose! If you thought the latest iPhones are expensive, then try crashing on the Nurburgring for once. Not only do you have to pay for the car you are driving (there are insurances to reduce the costs), but you also pay for the amount of barrier you damage, the Marshals and ambulances that would be brought out on the track. The bills can really rack up quickly. I have read instances where drivers ended up paying in excess of Euros 10,000/- for their accidents on the ring.

All said and done, we headed out on the track for the first time in my life, and it was kind of a disaster. The weather, which was looking quite decent in the morning when I started off from home, suddenly deteriorated to an extent that there where patches of collected water on the track. For this reason our driver was not able to fully exploit the performance of the GT3 RS. That said, he was a able to give it a quick squirt every now and then when he could see an opening and sometimes go completely blind over the crests at some biblical speeds. Of course, he was a chap who has done more than 20,000 laps of the circuit so I was sure that I was in good hands.

This taxi ride was one of my most exhilarating experiences ever, which stands toe-to-toe with the Formula Mazda car that I drove earlier in 2018 in Texas (I drove a Formula Mazda car!). If any of you guys are anywhere in the vicinity of the ring, it's is an unmissable opportunity that you will never experience anywhere, in any part of the world. I loved my time on the ring to the core and I hope that my experience gives you guys some idea of what it feels to be out there....

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for us to take photos as there were more passengers waiting to go out on the track after me. So instead, I made a quick video that has a full lap of the ring to give you an idea of the sort of conditions that were there... and also to bring you the goosebump-inducing sound of the flat six plowing on through the 20km green hell . Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiuRuH4fVSI&t=14s

[Samba]

Well its really a dream come true. Would have been even better, if you would have driven it yourself!

Your driver drove like walking in a park. Clearly shows how well he knows the track and of-course no doubt on his driving skills.

Just a piece of advice & hope you do not mind- Please do not talk with your driver when he is driving at such high speeds. How good he may be but it distracts. Maybe without the conversation between both of you, he may have reached more higher speeds!

Thanks for sharing your amazing experience with us.

[HKap]

Fantastic!! I was a first time driver at the green hell in 2008. The weather was similar with rain but we were in a front wheel drive Swift Sport. I of course had the benefit of having a fellow bhpian gsferrari with me who had MASTERED the track on the play station. He did a couple of laps on the track before I jumped in the drivers seat. I hadn't driven on the ring even on the playstation up until that moment. I basically just followed everything that my navigator (gsferrari) told me. The gear, the racing line... everything. However, if I were to go there myself, I would not drive unless I knew the track and all the fine details beforehand.

I completely agree with you, its an experience that no petrol head should miss out.

[Jeroen]

Great write up. Good to see you doing this sort of stuff. It is expensive, if not very expensive. But then again, it is really a true once in a lifetime experience.

Till date you can still take your own car on the Ring as well. You pay a small fee and of you go. As you pointed out, if you crash things could get very expensive very quickly and your insurance company is unlikely to cover.

Many years ago, I went on the ring myself in my Alfa Romeo Spider. With my eldest son, who at the time was probably about 12 or so. I bought two tickets, but the first round was absolutely terrifying, so I never did that second round.

Jeroen

[BANDHAV]

Damn! That some experience right there. I have been shotgun in few fast cars and even on mundane track (compared to ring) like Buddh circuit it was a feeling unmatched. I can't even imagine how it must have felt like experiencing the same on Ring.

PS: Is this Bhuvan?

[soulreaper_20]

**Apologies everyone, too much content to sift though and thus I wasn't able to long in for a while and reply to your comments**

He started talking so I thought it might be ok with him and he might be used to it... but yes, good point...

Originally Posted by Samba

Well its really a dream come true. Would have been even better, if you would have driven it yourself!

Your driver drove like walking in a park. Clearly shows how well he knows the track and of-course no doubt on his driving skills.

Just a piece of advice & hope you do not mind- Please do not talk with your driver when he is driving at such high speeds. How good he may be but it distracts. Maybe without the conversation between both of you, he may have reached more higher speeds!

Thanks for sharing your amazing experience with us.

Absolutely! It isn't a short circuit, and the weather isn't even the same on opposite ends. Plus proper knowledge of such a track is very important specialy when sharing the asphalt with others including motorcycles.

Originally Posted by HKap

Fantastic!! I was a first time driver at the green hell in 2008. The weather was similar with rain but we were in a front wheel drive Swift Sport. I of course had the benefit of having a fellow bhpian gsferrari with me who had MASTERED the track on the play station. He did a couple of laps on the track before I jumped in the drivers seat. I hadn't driven on the ring even on the playstation up until that moment. I basically just followed everything that my navigator (gsferrari) told me. The gear, the racing line... everything. However, if I were to go there myself, I would not drive unless I knew the track and all the fine details beforehand.

I completely agree with you, its an experience that no petrol head should miss out.

Alfa Romeo Spider, wow! I can only imagine. 20 something km of track through a thick forrest can be disorienting specially when everyone around wants to attempt Vmax at every corner!

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Great write up. Good to see you doing this sort of stuff. It is expensive, if not very expensive. But then again, it is really a true once in a lifetime experience.

Till date you can still take your own car on the Ring as well. You pay a small fee and of you go. As you pointed out, if you crash things could get very expensive very quickly and your insurance company is unlikely to cover.

Many years ago, I went on the ring myself in my Alfa Romeo Spider. With my eldest son, who at the time was probably about 12 or so. I bought two tickets, but the first round was absolutely terrifying, so I never did that second round.

Jeroen

It felt fast, but if the weather would have been clearer, it would have been much, much faster (probably we wouldn't be talking so much then too!)...

Bhuvan.

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

Damn! That some experience right there. I have been shotgun in few fast cars and even on mundane track (compared to ring) like Buddh circuit it was a feeling unmatched. I can't even imagine how it must have felt like experiencing the same on Ring.

PS: Is this Bhuvan?