Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 was a snug fit on the EurotunnelDigital reviews editor Aaron Smith drives from Autocar Towers to the Nürburgring for the gruelling 24-hour endurance race
It’s Sunday morning here at this year’s Nürburgring 24-Hour race and it’s already been a weekend of firsts for me.
First time driving out of the UK, first time pedalling an Aston Martin (V8 Vantage N430), first time on a de-restricted autobahn, first time visiting the awe-inspiring Nürburgring circuit and driving on the intimidating ‘Green Hell’ Nordschleife.
I’ll start with the autobahn experience midday Friday. There’s something wonderfully liberating and yet rather unnerving about creeping onto a de-restricted stretch of German tarmac, dropping from sixth to fourth in the N430’s manual ‘box and chasing the redline. But when this situation is presented in front of you, and you have 430bhp of Gaydon’s finest V8 under your right foot barking away, you just would, right?
The therapeutic part was seeing the digital speedometer head north of 162mph and it being completely legal. The unsettling experience was passing vans and trucks that were cruising at least 100mph less than you’re travelling.
Despite German drivers possessing supreme lane discipline, the ‘what if?’ question is never too far from your mind. Anyway, with Twickenham to Nürburg done-and-dusted in nine hours (including a slight detour down some unfinished country road with Autocar colleague Doug Revolta in tow), it was time for dinner and an early night.
Ever since I first got my hands on the Gran Turismo 2 computer game back in November 1999, I’ve often wondered what it'd be like to clip the apex at the infamous Karussell on the Nürbürgring Nordschleife.
After a parade lap of the 12.9-mile ‘Green Hell’ section with more than 30 fellow Aston Martins in convoy, I can confirm no computer game comes even close to replicating the sheer bumpiness of the Karussell. Fellow passenger, photographer and all-round good guy Graham almost put his Nikon through the passenger window while numpty-novice here tried his best to clip the apex of the banked left-hander.
A quick chat afterwards with Aston Martin advisor, ex-racing driver and veteran of the Nordschleife, Marcus Mahy confirmed it’s pretty violent at full-chat in a GT racer.
“Some racing drivers, including myself, keep extra padding in the left-side of your helmet, as your head tends to bounce off the roll cage through the Karussell.
“Before the speed restrictions came in, you’d get airborne at least five times a lap during the N24,” he said, rather nonchalantly. My mind was baffled.
Heading out on to the Nordschleife for the parade lap, it soon became apparent that the initial instruction of keeping to 40mph was abandoned, as the sound of normally aspirated V8s and V12s began filling the air.
Once you settle into a rhythm and begin to trust the N430’s hugely capable chassis and communicative hydraulic steering, while exploiting its peak torque at 5000rpm and power above 7000rpm, you’re quickly reminded not to take liberties by the tiny margin of error this circuit presents you with.
The tarmac finishes, there’s only several metres of damp grass and then an unforgiving barrier. That’s it. As a complete novice, the Nordschleife certainly lulled me into a false sense of security, as I clipped the limiter at 103mph in third and snatched fourth on a seemingly long straight, then as we tipped a crest, was presented with sharp left hairpin at the bottom of a dip. Thus came considerable pressure on the brake pedal and a mild tank-slapper.
I decided to wind my neck in for the rest of the lap and soak up the atmosphere from the hardcore racing contingent in the crowd, while the smell of barbeque wafted into the cabin as we made it back onto the main straight and into the paddock.
When I rocked up to the Nürburgring on Friday afternoon, I must confess to being a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer size and scale of it all. But now I’ve had time for everything to sink in.
I adore the place and have maximum respect for all the drivers who’ve tackled this circuit in all types of variable conditions and through the night. It’s an astonishing event.
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