Achim Hartmann Tuning cars in the Nardo high-speed test
06.12.2010
I n their individual forms, problems can definitely have a high entertainment value conceal within. For example, during the high-speed shootout in Nardo, the crew of the G-Power-BMW M5 urgently needed a battery charger, which resulted in a gesture-rich and verbose search by three employees at the Prototipo test site. Roland Mayer, CEO of MTM, on the other hand, worries about the temperature balance - no, not from the two Audi creations he brought to Nardo, but from the wheat beer that he imported from home. That ends up in the fridge while the RS6 and R8 Biturbo continue to roast under the blazing sun of southern Italy.
Big exhaust cinema in Nardo
Armin Rugamer, pilot of the Geiger Corvette ZR1, asks meanwhile, whether the four tailpipes of the Akrapovic system are not a little too thick. In view of the chosen diameter, which apparently only footballs can close, the answer to the question is 'yes'. And the 9ff team? Boss Jan Fatthauer in Nardo can not yet be disturbed by the North German calm, although his team lively under the car decides against and then again for the use of the diffuser.
Meanwhile, rumbling up A decrepit Fiat Fiorino approached the test area in Nardo, from which an Italian, tanned by the sun, dug out the saving charger that breathed electric life back into the 900 hp BMW M5, nicknamed Hurricane Experimental. Relief at G-Power, but now Jan Fatthauer's biorhythm gets out of step - at least a little.
Spectacular interception maneuver at 360 km /h in Nardo
After the first fast laps on the oval in Nardo in his 1,200 hp Porsche 911 GT3, he talks in the pits with economical facial expressions how the six-cylinder engine, which had been bored out to 3.9 liters, suddenly had to struggle with two bar of boost pressure and how it had to catch the rear that was prancing because of the excess torque - at 360 km /h. Tuner yarn? No, nothing escapes the video recording devices installed in the vehicles by auto motor und sport , which is why the dance of the 9ff low-flying aircraft over the four lanes of the Nardo oval can be admired by everyone present.
Already the starting procedure of the simplified to almost 1.4 tonsSports car extremes can only be achieved with contortions and with the necessary knowledge of the sophisticated unit in the rear. A few tapers of gas, slowly rolling up and then - yes then surprisingly little happens. Only at around 4,000 revolutions does the 8.1: 1 unit, which has a low compression ratio, literally burst the hat string, the needle of the rev counter suddenly clicks into the limiter, leaving only a fraction of a second to break through the six gears.
Nobody cares about the speed, because it just takes too much concentration to prevent the Porsche from taking off over the next bump on the high-speed track from Nardo and only to burn up as an orange comet on the market square in Brindisi .
Record in Nardo with 387.4 km /h
Especially at top speed, a well-trained lightweight body is not necessarily an advantage, especially since Nardo's asphalt rolls out much less than it is supposed. Especially at kilometer five, time, stress and weather have modeled some sporty elevations in the surface, which require strong muscles at speeds above 300 km /h - from the hands to the buttocks.
The noise level in the Porsche 9ff-GT3 has meanwhile swelled to a level that is in the range of a primary school class in the cola intoxication before the start of the holiday. Fatthauer simply listens, instead whips the GTurbo 1200 in Nardo to an incredible 387.4 km /h - nobody was faster, not even at the twelve previous top speed parties by auto motor und sport in Nardo.
BMW M5 with 900 PS in Nardo low flight
The BMW M5 from G-Power wanted to prevent that in Nardo. Two compressors crowd next to the V10 engine, the airbox of which has been replaced by a twin-flow intercooler system. Two larger centrifugal compressors increase the output to 900 hp. In the previous 750-PS variant, the roughly two-ton sedan swung to a documented 367.4 km /h, now G-Power wants more - but not the Hurricane. In a screaming, singing cloud of sound, the matt black limousine pushes over the circuit, so that even the automated gearbox has all the gears to do to provide the right shaft in good time.
Not only the transmission relieves the driver on the high-speed course of Nardo, because in contrast to the radical Porsche, the Hurricane allows its passengers that leather-covered comfort that characterizes the last generation of the power sedan. In the shallows of the electronics, however, a few bits have gone to the beach, so that the GPS display remains at exactly 339.4 km /h - with every attempt. Although the technicians doggedly rummage around in the M5's data bus with their laptops, they couldn't find a solution to the problem on site. Company boss Zoran Zorneke sees it sportily: 'Then you have towe'll be competing again in 2011. '
Geiger Corvette with 692 hp in Nardo
By then there will probably also be a slightly more discreet exhaust system for the Corvette ZR-1 in the Geiger program Surprising: Despite the lush dimensions of the rear silencer, the V8 sound of the supercharged engine sloshes warmly through the tightly cut interior, sparing the occupants from nerve-wracking hum frequencies. The wobbly, much too small standard sports seats are far more annoying and initially raise the question of whether Americans can really build cars. In the case of the Corvette, the answer is unequivocal - they can. Which is why Geiger lifts the standard 647 hp engine comparatively gently to 692 hp using modified electronics.
That's enough to get Armin Rugamer To make the way on the oval from Nardo to top speed 341.6 km /h as pleasant as possible.Of course, the tightly tuned Top-Vette is impressed by the bumps, the v The comparatively long wheelbase and the higher weight cause far less intensive sweat production for the pilot than, for example, the 9ff Porsche.
Audi R8 from MTM with tuned RS6 engine in Nardo
In the Audi R8 from MTM, on the other hand, it gets cozy and warm because the air conditioning of the mid-engine sports car that has just been completed is not yet working. 'This is the first time we are driving the car outside of the test bench here in Nardo, let's see what happens,' explains Mayer. Instead of laboriously adapting the turbocharger to the V10, he transplanted the supercharged engine from the RS6 and increased its output from 580 to 777 hp. A manual six-speed gearbox ensures the power connection, four driven wheels for traction. At around 3,000 rpm, with the typical supercharger whistling, a threatening thrust sets in, which presses the chest - 888 Newton meters report to duty, which lasts up to over 6,000 rpm.
The right hand clacks six gears through the open backdrop, the eyes are blinded by the glistening blood orange of the R8 interior. Up to 347.6 km /h the propulsion does not stop, Meyer is satisfied: 'The drive train works, we only have to work on the aerodynamics.' The exterior mirrors of the Audi R8 in Nardo were lost overnight.
MTM-Audi RS6 achieves 362.5 km /h in Nardo
The Audi RS6, also from the MTM stable, lacks the entire rear seat system and its space now is claimed by a roll cage. Mayer puts on his Calimero helmet and squeezes into the limousine racing bucket seat. One lap is enough and you have 362.5 km /h. 'Perfect, I don't want more,' said the Bavarian. Whether more is possible is an open question. One thing is certain: it definitely couldn't be easier. The seat belt clicks into the lock, the automatic selector lever slips to 'D', and the MTM Audi RS6 Clubsport roars off. Even thatHe does not forget springs - no comparison to the 9ff-GT3, the undisputed winner of this year's Nardo event.
Glasses collide, problems dissolve like foam on wheat beer. Will there be enough supplies for the evening?
