Nürburgring: ‘No more slow cars at Touristenfahrten’

For many years now, the Touristenfahrten on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife have guaranteed a special spectacle. Just as the umpteenth 911 disappears behind the hill, a few bends back you see a Ford Transit thundering towards you. He quickly overtakes a Citroën 2CV, which thrashes around like a fish out of water on the asphalt of the ‘Groene Hel’. You won’t see anything like this from now on, because the Nürburgring is tightening up the rules for the Touristenfahrten considerably, media such as Top Gear and Road and Track this week.

The regulations that were drawn up at the beginning of this year indeed show that, among other things, the minimum top speed of cars has been increased considerably. That was 60 km/h, now it is 130 km/h. The Prius in the photo above is not really fast, but it is still welcome. Incidentally, the safety rules still stated 60 km / h, but after inquiry by AutoWeek that appears to be an error that has now been corrected. A spokesman explains the decision: “The safety of drivers at the Nürburgring is a top priority. Therefore, after consulting a group of experts, it has been decided that by this season, according to the manufacturer, a car must have a top speed of at least 130 km/h to be admitted to the tourist rides. This is to prevent huge speed differences between the participating cars on this circuit, which demands a lot from you with its difficult to navigate sections, bends and height differences.”

Not only is the minimum top speed going up, there are also some additional rules that keep even more cars out of the Touristenfahrten. For example, the maximum permitted weight of a car may not exceed 3.5 tonnes and cars that do not ‘have the driving dynamics of a passenger car’ are no longer permitted. According to the Nürburgring, this includes, for example, pick-ups, vans and campers. “This applies regardless of the maximum permitted total weight”.

Separate events

‘But hey, I just parked a nice Volkswagen Beetle in front of the door and want to chase 911s on the Nordschleife with it’. Well, then you have a problem, although you may wonder how wise it would be at all. However, the spokesman for the Nürburgring points out to AutoWeek that there are alternatives to still be able to use your peacefully simmering boxer engine. “For cars – especially historic cars – that according to the regulations can no longer participate in the tourist rides (such as a Volkswagen 1200 ‘Beetle’ with a top speed of 115 km/h), the Nürburgring offers its own events, such as Afterwork Classics on the Grand Prix circuit, which still applies to cars that can reach a minimum top speed of 60 km/h.”