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.
Drive journalist JF Musial had the opportunity to get inside this, normally restricted, area and get the full tour by Jaguar’s head of European Test Operations, Phil Talboys.
Talboys explained that it’s not just the hotted-up “R” or “RS” versions that get tested, but every single variant of each Jag before it gets signed off for production.
That’s because there are things like suspension settings and electronic stability control calibrations that have to be tested and tuned differently for cars like the rear- and all-wheel drive XF or XJ.
An interesting fact is that not any Jaguar employee can just hop into one of the cars and have a little fun at the ‘Ring. Just like an MI6 agent needs to have two confirmed kills under his belt before earning a double-0 status, any Jaguar engineer that wants a Nordschleife “license to drive” must pass a series of tests. So far, less than 30 people are qualified…
Then again, any ‘Ring story would be incomplete without a lap around what probably has become the most famous track in the world.
A 550HP XKR-S, in particular the test car that was used to develop the production version and set a lap record with Sascha Bert behind the helm, is just what the doctor ordered, complete with Bert himself in the driver’s seat and a damp track to make things more interesting.
You can watch the whole story in detail right after the jump.
By Andrew Tsaousis
VIDEO