Nurburgring records have lost relevance in my book for quite some time now. For some people they still hold some sort of relevance but when you think about how certain manufacturers come up with incredible numbers for their cars, you realize these are just bragging rights. The BMW M2 Competition shows it perfectly. The currently automotive industry darling is not the fastest car on the Ring, not even close, and yet it is loved more than 90 percent of the record-holders on the Green Hell.
The reason is quite simple: this is an analogue car in a digital world. In a time when everything is run by computers, the M2 Competition gets as analogue as possible and delivers kicks like few others can. That said, the M2 Competition is fun in every given situation, be it on the streets or on the track. The video below shows just how good it can get with some tuning applied to it. That’s because our ‘star’ here has been slightly upgraded.
According to the uploader the car now has a KW Competition 3-Way adjustable suspension, new Michelin semi-slicks and an engine tune. Apparently, the 3-liter straight six engine under the hood has 520 HP now. That’s quite an improvement over the stock 405 ponies. However, when setting out to do a record lap time run, the conditions also have to be perfect. In this particular case, the temperature on the Ring was 37 degrees Celsius, less than ideal.
The driver also has to know the track by heart and, thankfully, the man behind the wheel had enough practice on the Nurburgring. Unfortunately, this was shot during a tourist day so there’s plenty of traffic. Even so, the Bridge to Gantry section of the Nordschleife was covered in 7:12 which is a more than decent time. The BTG is basically the entire Nurburgring track without the long straight.
