While no one disputes the merits of testing on the Nürburgring, we can’t help but think that foreign brans use the track for marketing reasons as well to promote German car-like engineering and handling qualities.
South Korea’s Hyundai went one-step further with the creation of a dedicated center at the Nürburgring that cost €6.6 million ($8.3 million). The 3.600 m2 building opened just last September.
“Our investment in the new test centre at the Nürburgring has already brought a valuable return for our business,” said Hyundai’s regional COO Allan Rushforth. “Every lap of this challenging track helps to enhance the quality and performance of our cars, to the benefit of our customers. It’s a vital part of our infrastructure that will play a key role in helping to develop our vehicles and our brand in Europe.”
During the last year, Hyundai tested more than 20 different vehicles over 4.000 laps of the 20.8km-long track covering a total of 83,200km (51,709 miles), which it says, “is equivalent to more than 1.4 million km (870,000 miles) of normal road use”.
“Hyundai’s ‘Accelerated Durability Test’ simulates a normal vehicle’s lifecycle in just four to six weeks, covering 110 laps of the demanding circuit per week. Six professional test drivers repeatedly push each car close to the limit,” said the Korean carmaker in a statement.
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