The GREAT Debate: Do Nürburgring Lap Times REALLY Matter With Performance Cars?

Although I've been a bit critical of the latest seasons of Top Gear — you know, before it was axed — one thing the boys, more specifically James May, got right was how automakers have become obsessed with the world famous Nürburgring. While the track has become the proving ground for just about every automaker, it's also home to the definitive third-party lap tests conducted by Sport Auto. While manufacturers typically boast about their own lap times at the 'Ring, Sport Auto has become the leading independent authority to do a lap with the same driver around the punishing circuit.

Here's the thing though: do these lap times even matter?

As James May professed, some cars should not be sport tuned and this obsession has begun to essentially ruin some products. While May used Aston Martin as an example, I'll look to Cadillac. Did the standard ATS really need to go through a barrage of testing at the 'Ring? I can understand the proper ATS-V, but the Plain Jane ATS? Seems a bit silly, really.

Even with the likes of the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1, does the Nürburgring need to be the supposed benchmark? As far as we know, Ferrari hasn't put the car on the track and McLaren has not officially released the P1's time.

What say you, Spies? Do the Nürburgring's lap times REALLY matter?

TomM - 5/21/2015 12:26:42 AM

+2 Boost

The fact is - this matters ONLY in the minds of the people who buy these premium performance cars. A tenth is something to BRAG about - but it is completely unlikely that most of the owners will ever come close to driving their cars in such racetrack conditions - and under street conditions that actual difference in performance is negligible. The fact is - these cars are not really different from their less powerful stablemates - because on the street - they ALL go faster than we can go - they accelerate faster than we will drive them -they stop quicker than we are likely to ever test - and (Especially) they corner harder than we will ever come close to doing on a public road. And it takes more and more money to produce less and less positive effect on performance - while many of these cars simply ride to harshly for the people who can actually afford to buy them. And quite a lot of them end up as Garage/Trophy cars - almost never actually seeing a real public road - much less a race track.

runninglogan1 - 5/21/2015 1:29:02 AM

+1 Boost

Of course they matter. Nurburgring lap times have become a badge of honor among supercars and no matter how unrepresentative they are, they provide undeniable bragging rights.

gkearns56 - 5/21/2015 1:10:04 PM

+1 Boost

They mean nothing to a common sense person. "Yea my car did 0-60 in 4.1 seconds. Well - mine did it in 4.0 seconds". WOW 1/10 of a second faster. And give yourself a pat on back - who cares because most people can't drive 140 MPH here anyway. It's nothing more then a bragging tool where that automotive can say for advertisement.

We have heard GM, Ford, Chevy truck companies say something to the affect, "GM-The longest lasting trucks on the road"; "#1 seller for the last 32 years in a row - FORD built tough"; Or "Built RAM tough with the highest MPG among all full size trucks"

They all want to brag about something!!.