Game Over for Porsche 911 GT3 RS (?) at the Nürburgring

Losing control and trashing your car on a wall while playing Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport might be fun in a sadistic kind of way, but that's something you never, ever want to experience in real life on a track, or anywhere else, for that matter, even though, truth to be said, statistics are stacked against you…

The driver of what may or may or not be a Porsche 911 GT3 RS (it doesn't sound like one, if you want our opinion) was lapping the Nürburgring, accelerating to a speed of close to 200km/h (124mph) when at the Bergwerk corner, the car's rear end starts to slide, possibly after stepping on leaked water coolant.

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Hyundai Building its Own Test Center at the Nürburgring Track

Reaffirming its commitment to compete with the top brands around the world on all levels, Hyundai revealed plans to build a new test center at the Nürburgring track in Germany that will enable the company to develop the driving dynamics, reliability and durability of its future vehicles. Read more »

Spied: New Porsche 911 Turbo and GT3 Flogged Around the Nürburgring

The easiest way to tell a Porsche 911 Turbo from a 911 GT3 when they're running wild on a fast circuit like the Green Hell and on top of that, they're plastered in black camouflage, is to try to take a look at the exhaust pipes.

You see, the milder Turbo edition has two outlets on either side of the rear diffuser while the rougher GT3 sports two centrally mounted pipes.

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One Ring to Crash Them All and Into Armco Bind Them: Watch 2012’s Nordschleife Accidents

There’s a very good reason why Jackie Stewart named the “old” Nürburgring the Green Hell and why Formula 1 doesn’t race there any more: it’s too bloody dangerous.

Still, the Nordschleife track hosts other race series up to this day and is the place where manufacturers hone their latest cars and advertise their lap times, while on certain dates, it is also open to the public. This means that anyone can pay the ticket and drive around the 20.8 km (12.9-mile) circuit.

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Drive Goes Inside Jaguar’s Nürburgring Test Facility, Samples the XKR-S

Maybe some of you are thinking, “oh, it's just another Nürburgring video where a lucky chap is having a blast driving a powerful car”. Bear with us, though, because it's much more than that.

In fact, it’s a look at the inside workings of a car maker's dedicated Nordschleife test center. Jaguar has been visiting the 13-mile-long track for more than two decades and it was one of the first manufacturers to set up shop there, just outside the track’s northern loop, in 2003.

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Spied: Rolls Royce Ghost Coupe Makes Another Appearance on the 'Ring

Like many other European luxury carmakers, Rolls Royce is also looking outside its home market to increase sales, with the British firm's CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes revealing plans to expand the number of dealers from 105 today to 120 in countries including Chile, Thailand and Vietnam, during an interview with Bloomberg News. Read more »

Spy Shots: New BMW M6 Gran Coupe Exposed During Nürburgring Event

BMW sure chose a strange way to unveil the production version of its upcoming M6 Gran Coupe. The German carmaker brought the sports sedan along to an unrelated happening at the Nürburgring, and unsurprisingly, a few journalists attending the event did not miss out on the opportunity to snap a few pictures of the camouflage-free model.

The Bavarian brand did not release any information regarding the M version of the Gran Coupe, which itself, despite the confusing name, is a four-door sedan iteration of the 6-Series Coupe.

Nevertheless, we already know that the M6 Gran Coupe shares its powertrain with the two-door M6 models (coupe and convertible), meaning there's a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 553hp (560PS) delivered from 6,000 to 7,000 rpm and a peak torque of 680Nm (501 lb-ft) from 1,750 to 5,750 rpm, lurking under the hood.

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Scoop: Next Infiniti G Sports Sedan Does the Nürburgring Rounds for the Camera

This new spy video shows the next iteration of Infiniti's G series premium saloon giving it a go on the track that all carmakers, small and large, fine-tune their future products, Germany's famed Nürburgring.

The all-new G series will launch late next year (as a 2014 model in North America) with the world premiere rumored to take place at the Geneva Salon in March, though, we wouldn't be surprised if Infiniti chooses the Detroit Motor Show in January instead.

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Nissan GT-R Updated for 2014MY, Laps Nürburgring in 7’18’’6 [w/Videos]

On December 6, 2007, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn proudly unveiled the all-new GT-R during the Tokyo Motor Show. Design chief Shiro Nakamura proudly stated that Japan’s supercar reflected the country’s culture. However it’s not the styling but what’s underneath that aggressive bodywork that has made it humiliate supercars worth double its price - or more...

Kazutoshi Mizuno, though, who heads the GT-R development team, is apparently a very difficult man to please. That’s evident from the modifications he has constantly made to his creation, the latest being the one unveiled today, which will be known as a 2014MY in North America, and as a 2013 model for the rest of the world.

When the GT-R was launched, its 3.8-liter VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 pumped out 480HP. A year later, it gained 5HP but it wasn’t until 2011MY when its output jumped considerably, to 530HP.

One would think that this would be enough. Mizuno didn’t: that’s why he upped the V6’s output just a year later to 542HP and then, in 2011, to 545HP for the North American market version.

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Spy Shots: New BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo Loosens up on the Nürburgring

BMW seems hell bent to offer a 3-Series (or 3-Series-based) model for almost every need; from four door sedans in regular and long wheelbase body styles and station wagons, to coupes, convertibles, high performance variants, and even a so-called four-door coupe and a taller liftback model named the 3-Series Gran Turismo (GT).

The latter was spied by our photographers lifting its inner wheel in a corner during testing on the Nürburgring in Germany.

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U Spy: New Rolls Royce Ghost Coupe Filmed Lapping the Nürburgring

Thanks to CarScoop reader and Nürburgring dweller Timo S., we now have the first ever action footage of Rolls Royce's upcoming Ghost-based coupe, the production name of which, remains a tightly guarded secret for now.

The spy video affords us a look at how Goodwood's new Flying Lady tackles the corners and straights of the Nürburgring Nordschleife track at speeds and angles you don't normally see a Rolls Royce model.

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Scoop: 2015 BMW X5 M Prototype Pushed Hard on the Nürburgring

It takes a lot of work and many dedicated people to create any type of vehicle that is to be sold to the public, but trying out some cars can be a little bit more enjoying than others, even if we are talking about an SUV.

Unlike their arbeitskolleges at Mercedes-Benz's AMG department who had an unfortunate mishap earlier today with the SLS GT AMG…Toast Edition, BMW's M people were able to keep the upcoming X5 M under control while pushing the performance crossover to its limits on the Nordschleife.

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Edition Prototype Burns to the Ground on the 'Ring

What could have been a follow up on Monday's news on the sighting of another prototype of Mercedes-Benz's SLS AMG Black Series Edition took a…toastier twist today as the German firm's test car ended up on a guardrail while running on the Nürburgring race track and burned to the ground.

There's not a lot of information about the incident at this time, though, we do know that both the driver and his passenger abandoned the vehicle uninjured before it was engulfed in flames.

The bits and pieces of the SLS AMG Black Series Edition that are scatted on the ground along with the positioning of the car suggest that drive may have lost control smashing into the guardrail with the Gullwing coupe's rear end.

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Scoop: Lexus Caught Testing Third Special LF-A Called the AD-X with a Very Porsche Like Livery

We have to admit, Lexus has us somewhat baffled lately with its special LF-A prototypes roaming the famed Nürburgring test track.

As you may very well remember, over the past few months, our spies have nabbed two unique test cars, including a teal-colored model with black stripes and the "AD-A" inscription on the front fenders, followed by a green LFA, again with black stripes but with an "AD-B" label right behind the front wheel arches.

Now, we have a third (!) prototype, this one painted in a white color scheme with red accents on the body and wheels that brings to mind the Porsche 911 Carrera RS. It's named the LFA AD-X.

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Scoop: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Shows its Sharper Face on the 'Ring

Here's our first glimpse of the redesigned 2014 model Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG that will make its debut alongside the rest of the facelifted E-Class family, including the regular saloons, Estate, Convertible and Coupe models, early next year with sales to follow in spring.

The common denominator of these models is the smoother and more contemporary lines of the body, something mainly achieved through the replacement of the quartet of headlights with two single units and the scraping of the "Ponton" style rear fenders rear.

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Rally Legend Walter Röhrl Drives the New Porsche 918 Spyder on the Nürburgring

Are you tired of Porsche constantly teasing us about its next über-sports car, the 918 Spyder, which apart from being über-expensive is also a year away from production? Even if the answer is yes, you may find the video that follows below the jump interesting…

While Evo magazine’s MD Harry Metcalfe has already taken the right seat of the 918 at the Nardo track, that car was an early prototype, with almost no bodywork.

This time, he found himself on the passenger’s seat of a complete car at the Nordscheife. What’s more, the man sitting behind the wheel is none other than 1980 and 1982 World Rally Champion Walter Röhrl.

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Spy Shots: Swanky Rolls Royce Ghost Coupe Visits the 'Ring for Some High Speed Laps

The Nürburgring track is one of the last places you would expect to see a Rolls Royce, but if the rumors turn out to be true, the new Ghost-based Coupe may feel at home even here.

You see, the new two-door model, the name of which remains a mystery for now, is said to be the sportiest, fastest and best handling model ever to wear the "Spirit of Ecstasy" ornament on its hood.

While utilizing the platform and mechanical hardware of the Ghost sedan, itself related to the BMW 7-Series, the new Coupe will benefit from a shorter chassis with several upgrades including sportier suspension, brake and steering systems as well as a tuned version of the saloon's 6.6-liter twin turbo V12 engine believed to produce 600-horses or more.

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Scoop: What's Audi Doing with This Modified R8 GT on the Nürburgring?

Earlier today, our man with the long lens photographed what he described as a "strange looking" Audi R8 GT performing some test runs on the Nürburgring Nordschleife racetrack.

The reason why the test car captured our spy photographer's attention is that, while based on the hardcore 2012 R8 GT of which only 333 units are to be made, it featured some visible upgrades, but not of the sort seen on the recently facelifted R8 series.

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Watch a BMW 328i Chase a Renault Clio RS Mk2 Racer on the Nürburgring

Ah, the Nürburgring Nordschleife; the track that most of us gear heads would love to be within a driving distance from our homes but only get to imagine what it would be like to speed through its corners via our gaming stations.

Some lucky individuals have the opportunity to live the Nordschleife in…real life - like the owner of YouTube channel "nurburgdale" who took his lightly upgraded BMW 328i E36 sedan and tackled a race-prepped Renault Clio RS Mk2 driven by Darren Langeveld of Ringweekends and Destination-Nürburgring.

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Spied: All-New 2013 Skoda Octavia will Share Platform and Engines with New Golf 7

After eight years in the market, it's time for Skoda's successful family notchback to slowly give its place to a brand new Octavia that will make its world premiere sometime next year, either at the Geneva Salon in March or at the Frankfurt Motor Show later on in September.

For the first time, our scoop shooters seized a prototype of the production Octavia Mk3 as the Czech firm's engineers were performing high-speed tests at the Nürburgring track in Germany.

Evidently, it's not east to tell what's going on under the psychedelic-themed camouflage, but we can see that the third generation of Skoda's bread and butter model has a more athletic shape than the current Octavia with a lower front end and a sleeker roofline.

We cannot be completely sure from these images, but it is likely that the new model will keep the Octavia's traditional notchback styling that disguises a hatch tailgate.

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