Latest news with #Nürburgring24Hours


Top Gear
23-06-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
A BMW M4 won the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours after a thrilling race
Motorsport Rowe Racing snatched it in the last few hours, after the leading Manthey Porsche was given a hefty penalty Skip 3 photos in the image carousel and continue reading This year's Nürburgring 24 Hours delivered the goods: a record 280,000-strong crowd, 30-degree heat and 140 cars. Throw in an electrical outage, a penalty and many crashes into that mix, and you end up with a spectacular 24 hours of racing that ended with a BMW M4 on the top step of the podium. The 4pm kick-off saw plenty of teams proceed with caution to avoid cooking their engines, particularly those in the lower classes. Underdogs Ollis Garage Racing and their hearty Dacia Logan stalled at the start, ending up in the pits after being cheered on by a lively crowd. You love to see it. Advertisement - Page continues below After just two hours, the race was halted due to said outage at the pit building. That meant no comms were available between drivers and their teams, and come nightfall, no lights anywhere along the track either. We suspect someone got a major telling off after that. Anyway, the rogue fuse was found and fixed after another three hours, and racing resumed with the 911 GT3 R of Manthey Racing in the lead, followed closely by Falken Racing's 911, while behind them were various Aston Martin Vantages, Ford Mustangs, Lamborghini Huracans and Mercedes-AMG GTs. You might like There was a lone Ferrari 296 GTB nestled in amongst the chasing pack, as well as the M4 of Rowe Racing. The latter started the race in 17th position after missing out on the final qualifying session, but managed to gain ground superbly. The Dacia also got back out onto the track at this point. That thing just doesn't give up, does it? Dusk approached, and disaster struck for Team Falken. With a gap of around 10 seconds to Manthey, their #33 GT3 R had a head-on collision with a GT3 Cup at the Mercedes-Arena curves, having been tapped by an old 3 Series. Mercifully, no serious injuries were reported. Advertisement - Page continues below It was game over for Falken's lead car, and much-needed breathing space for Manthey, who stayed strong throughout the night shift and looked certain to cross the chequered flag as the winner. The Nürburgring, it seemed, had other ideas. The heatwave picked back up as the cars headed into the afternoon stint, and 'Ring legend Kevin Estre was at the wheel for Manthey. As he wolfed down a backmarker Vantage, he dove onto the grass to pass and made contact, sending the Vantage into a flip. Officials deemed it a punishable offence, slapping a 100-second penalty on Manthey and Estre with only a few hours of racing to go. The Rowe BMW garage went into a frenzy: they'd been making ground and staying consistent with their laps, eventually crossing the line a few seconds behind Manthey. But with the penalty attached, they'd won by a fair margin. Impressive, considering most BMW customer teams chose to rest their cars for the forthcoming Spa 24 Hours, so Rowe fielded the only M4 this year. It means BMW has now wrestled bragging rights back from Audi, after it won the shortest-ever N24 last year. It is also BMW's first win at the event in five years, when Rowe claimed victory in 2020 with an M6 GT3. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

TimesLIVE
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Kelvin van der Linde helps Rowe-BMW to Nürburgring 24 Hour victory
Rowe Racing managed to secure victory in the 53rd running of the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring after a close contest with the Manthey Racing 'Grello' Porsche 911 GT3. The #98 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn, Raffaele Marciello and South Africa's Kelvin van der Linde, completed 141 laps to finish just over a minute ahead of the Manthey Porsche crewed by Kevin Estre, Ayhancan Güven and Thomas Preining. Though the Manthey entry crossed the line first, it was relegated to second place after incurring a 1:40 time penalty. The team had lodged a protest against the penalty, but it was dismissed by race stewards shortly before the end of the race. The result marks Rowe Racing's second overall win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours after its 2020 triumph and is BMW's 21st victory in the event. For Van der Linde, who celebrated his 29th birthday during the weekend, it was a third Nürburgring win after previous victories in 2017 and 2022. Farfus added a second title to his 2010 win, while Marciello and Krohn each claimed their first. Third place went to the #54 Dinamic Porsche shared by Bastian Buus, Matteo Cairoli, Loek Hartog and Joel Sturm. 'Things looked very different for us on Thursday,' said Rowe team principal Hans-Peter Naundorf. 'We had completely different thoughts. But of course you always want to win. Today, it wasn't the fastest car that won, but the team that made the fewest mistakes. That was us and we are proud of that.'


Hindustan Times
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Volkswagen debuts a Golf GTI anniversary special with more power than ever
Volkswagen has unveiled a limited-run Golf GTI Edition 50 at the Nürburgring 24 Hours This 50th anniversary edition is the most powerful GTI ever built with 321 bhp Its upgraded 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine makes as much torque as the AWD Golf R The GTI Edition 50 rides on 19-inch Queenstown alloys with a red glaze finish Check product page It has GTI 50 logos all around with a blacked-out roof, mirror caps and tailpipe trims The optional Performance package brings a titanium exhaust from Akrapovic The driver gets a newly designed leather-wrapped steering wheel with a GTI 50 logo The sport seats remain unchanged with the familiar synthetic velour accents Production will start at end of 2025 with deliveries to commence in 2026 To learn about the Golf GTI... Click Here

The Drive
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
This $800K Mercedes 190E Evo Restomod Will Actually Race at the Nurburgring 24H
The latest car news, reviews, and features. It's easy to get cynical about restomods. HWA's reimagined Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II, for example, looks incredible. But it also costs just short of $800,000, and there's been no shortage of projects like it as of late, taking collector cars that already demand top dollar under the knife for a guaranteed profit. HWA, though, is coming at this from a different angle. The 190E Evo II wasn't just a '90s performance icon—it was a race car proven on Europe's greatest tracks by HWA itself, which managed Mercedes' DTM program. In that tradition, the company has decided to do the same with its new Evo, and will campaign two examples in next year's Nürburgring 24 Hours race. The cars will compete in the race's SP-X class, which is reserved for vehicles that don't adhere to any criteria. While HWA hasn't said who will drive them, Roland Asch and Klaus Ludwig, who are also no strangers to Mercedes touring cars, will help develop them on the Nordschleife. The cars' 'appropriate modifications in performance, weight, and safety systems' will be detailed at a later date, HWA said in a press release. HWA rolled out a liveried Evo for the announcement, paying homage to the Sonax-sponsored machines that it campaigned in the early '90s. Ludwig drove a 190E that looked similar to the 1992 DTM title. The new rendition looks good, but I always preferred the version of this scheme with silver and red, rather than the flat white. It's unclear if this is how the cars will look on race day next year, but for what it's worth, the Evo cleans up surprisingly well in bright sage, too. Driver Klaus Ludwig poses with an HWA Evo prototype. Gruppe C Photography/HWA The HWA Evo incorporates a three-liter, twin-turbo V6 making 444 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed transaxle. To make one, HWA receives an original 190E Cosworth donor and guts it, stripping it down to its bare chassis before washing it in a chemical bath and rebuilding everything from there. The suspension is double-wishbone with electronically adjustable dampers all around, the body is carbon fiber, and the final article weighs 2,980 pounds. HWA has already started building these and is only planning to make 100, total. There are apparently still a few build slots left, per this latest bulletin from the company, so you haven't missed your chance. And if you want to tune in for this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours, it kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Upcoming VW Golf GTI special is faster around 'Ring than Golf R
The upcoming Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50 has become the quickest production-based VW model to lap the Nürburgring – surpassing even the more powerful and track-honed Golf R. The special iteration of the hot hatch – based on the current Golf GTI Mk8.5, which is widely expected to be the final pure-combustion GTI before the badge moves into the electric era – lapped the 12.94-mile Nordschleife circuit in 7min 46.13sec. The lap was set a little over a week before the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours, where the GTI Edition 50 is planned to be officially unveiled on 20 June. While the special Golf won't reach UK showrooms until 2026, it has already made headlines by eclipsing the time set by the Golf R 20 Years – and has edged the Golf closer than ever to the 7min 44.88sec front-wheel-drive Nürburgring lap benchmark set by the Honda Civic Type R in 2023 In beating the four-wheel-drive Golf R 20 Years – a 328bhp anniversary model that set a time of 7min 47.31secc in 2022 – the new front-drive GTI Edition 50 has now leapfrogged what was once considered Volkswagen's halo performance Golf model. The GTI Edition 50's lap time was achieved by Benny Leuchter, VW's long-standing development and race driver. Speaking to Autocar after the run, Leuchter revealed that conditions were far from ideal. 'We ran in a very small window of opportunity after hours of rain,' he said. 'It was partly wet. The Fuchsröhre was particularly treacherous, and there was standing water on many other parts of the circuit.' Full technical details of the Edition 50 remain under wraps but the Nürburgring car was fitted with a Performance Package, which included Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slicks on 19in forged Warmenau wheels and a revised suspension set-up. These components are expected to be optional extras when the car goes on sale in late 2025. Power output hasn't been confirmed, but it's understood the Edition 50 will produce close to 320bhp from its familiar turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder EA888 petrol engine, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential. Leuchter emphasised that the car he drove wasn't a one-off. 'Technically, it was set up exactly as it will be sold to customers,' he said. ]]>