Ring-Leader

2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package

It's been a while since we've heard of this limited edition package. It was when the LFA first came out that Toyota said they'd be building a hardcore version of this. They even showed us a picture of it. Now, a year later, Lexus is ready to release this hardcore package to the public. Only 50 will be made, each costing $70,000 more than its original price of $375,000. So, what does this package entail? For starters, Lexus added 10 more horses to the engine to counteract the drag of the massive rear wing, front splitter, and rear diffuser allowing this car to stay planted on the road. Second, it won't just be available in orange. There's glossy white, glossy black, and the popular matte black, but that's a $20,000 option. Third, you can customize the interior colors in all black, black and red, black and purple, or, if your Prince, black and orange. Only the Europeans will have the option of having their interiors all carbon fiber. Fourth, buyers will have the option of getting some lessons from a 'Ring master, or 'Ring mistress (Sabine Schmitz), on how to navigate the 'Ring. Fifth, how's about a year's free pass to go crazy round the 'Ring anytime you want? Sounds good doesn't it? All you need is a check of $445,000 made out to Lexus and they'll do all of this for you. If your a matte black fan, you'll be paying $465,000.

24 Hours of Golf

2012 VW Golf24 Race Car

The ever-famous Nürburgring 24 hour race is coming soon, and VW are coming back with an all new car. Last time, the put their Scirocco round Green Hell, but it didn't do as well as they hoped. So instead, they've tuned this Golf here to have over 400 horsepower from a 2.5-liter Turbocharged Inline-5 engine and put the FIA GT standards into it to make the Golf24 Race Car. They've definitely improved on this one. The Scirocco24 had 300 horsepower with front-wheel drive. Since this has over 400 horsepower, they put the drivetrain to all-wheel drive for better traction and much more balance. Let's see if VW gets lucky with this car this year.

Rebuilding a Legend

2012 Ferrari P4/5 Competizione

It's taken him months, but finally, his masterpiece is complete. Jim Glickenhaus, the man who bought the one-off P4/5 Pininfarina from Ferrari, has finally turned his exclusive supercar into a race-ready machine. No word on the stats of this car yet, but rumor has it that his team have been testing it at the Nürburgring and plan to enter it in the next 24 hour race. What's also surprising is that it won't be racing for Italy, since this car's Italian. It'll be racing for America, since the owner is American. Look for this car at the green hell later this year.

Share On Facebook

Girls Can Drive, Too Boys!

Sabine Schmitz

I know that there's been some stig lately about girls being the worst drivers in the world because of their bad phone habits or nervousness behind the wheel. But, truth be told; there are some good feminine drivers out there. Danica Patrick is one of them, but there's another one that you probably haven't heard before. Her name is Sabine Schmitz and Germany has heard of her. Some drivers call her "The Queen of the Nürburgring", and I can see why. She's taken first place twice in the 24 Hour Nürburgring Race in a BMW M3 GT Racer in the 1990's. Now, she serves as the popular "Ring Taxi" Driver for BMW driving the BMW M5. She's appeared on Top Gear three times; once taking Clarkson around the Nürburgring, a second time racing the Audi R8 against The STIG in a Porsche 997 GT3, and a third time receiving the Top Gear Award for Coolest German. She's really done a lot with her career as a racer. Here are some videos of her in action.






Share On Facebook