The Nürburgring is arguably one of the most impressive tracks in the worlds. The famous German circuit located in the Eifel mountains, is known for its motorsports history, length and challenge it provides. Therefore the Nürburgring a major attraction for petrol heads from all over the world.
Besides being a driving enthusiasts’ Valhalla, the Ring serves nowadays as a demanding proving ground for car manufacturers and media. Many of them use the 22,8km long Nordschleife as a standard to publish their lap times achieved with their cars and sometimes even unveil a special Nürburgring Edition. This might upset Top Gear host James May, who has regularly expressed his dissatisfaction with the influence of the track when it’s used by car makers to develop new models. But the huge impact of the Nürburgring inspires other people.
Bruton Smith, the CEO of Speedway Motorsports, has proposed to build an exact replica of the German circuit in Nevada. In an interview with SiriusXM Sports he talked about possibly building a duplicate of the Nürburgring outside of Las Vegas. The 84-year-old Smith has been talking to the Governor and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which administers over 75% of the land in Nevada. Smith wants the BLM to donate 8,000 acres (32 km²) of land for the project.
If this project gets the green light from the authorities, Smith will ‒ with some help of engineers in Germany ‒ create an exact replica of the Nürburgring. He also said this track wouldn’t be used for racing, but for only testing. A major benefit of this proposed circuit is the fact is could be used 12 months a year, which according to Smith is not possible in Germany. The Nevada Ring could be used by car manufacturers as well as individuals.
This idea might seem a little bit far stretched, but let’s not forget this is Las Vegas ‒ a city filled with replicas of Paris, Venice, New York and more. But the myth of the Nürburgring in Germany is not only created by its history, but also by the regions sometimes challenging weather. While Las Vegas enjoys abundant sunshine year-round, this can’t be said about the original track in Germany.
What do you think about the proposal to build a copy of the Nürburgring near Las Vegas? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Video: Derek Bell explains and drives the Porsche 956 around the Nurburgring.
[via Jalopnik and SiriusXM Sports]
Crazy idea,but i like it.I don’t think it’s going to happen though…
Die Nordschleife kann man nicht einfach so kopieren!Das kriegen die nie hin.
its impossible to copy all the little details, bumps and other things that makes the nordschleife so famous
Can’ they just build a completely different track, of similar length that would put the same strain on the cars? Don’t like the idea of a copy. The Nurburgring already has financial trouble, this would probably sink it.
I thinks it’s a great idea to replicate the track in the US. Besides allowing for year round testing, it would allow for us commoners to test our cars on the track without having to ship the cars to Germnay to make that run. Now that is reserved for the rich and famous.
Exacly my thought.
i think a problem too is the high temperature around las vegas. too hot to really test cars. the eifel is well known for fast changing weather caprioles – and for beeing not too hot
I think it would be a geat place too have a track built!
hi i live 10 km far from the nordschleife
i don´t think that the copy is as good as the orignal
i would build an other track but nearly hard and long
They could take many inspirations from it and rebuild some similar parts as the Karussel or the Fuchsröhre..but please don´t copy it!
Gay!
I say build it, but this guy needs to pay for the land. What gets me is why is he looking for a hand out from the government. If they want he land for the track they need to pay fair market value for it. Why are corporations and the wealthy always looking for hand outs, yet asking he rest of us to make sacrifices?
Too mountainous to copy in the nevada desert.
Just lay the money down and race
i can cancel my trip to germany now
Pay the land for the circuit, no more money for richest people or corporations.
Build something similar in length and difficulty, only better. Build it and they will come.
Why would anyone make a clone of a circuit? For only a little more they could have a new completely original one. Either way, its going to be a few billion dollars.
Noo, we need the ring over here! many of us nur fans will never get to the real thing. but nevada? yessir!