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Nardo Test Track Gets A €35 Million Restoration By Porsche

The Nardo Test Ring consists of 7.8 miles of curved track hidden within the trees of southern Italy. Its four-lane sloped system allows cars to push the boundaries of speed with the car needing no steering input at 149mph to maintain a dead straight lap.

Originally built in 1975, it was owned and used by Fiat to produce a number of world records and acted as a high speed testing facility for an abundance of manufacturers such as BMW, Bugatti and McLaren. VW once used it to conduct a 24hour test for their Nardo concept car. It completed a total of 4,800 miles at a ridiculous 200mph average.

However, over the years the onslaught of high performance rubber and ridiculous forces have eroded the tarmac, and since Porsche bought the facility in 2012, it has been looking worse for wear. But after an injection of €35 million and a new name of Nardò Technical Center, the track is open and ready to once again ready to make history.

It took a long seven months to resurface the track and add a new “innovative guardrail system” to the outer ring, but Porsche keen to add that the facility is more than just this outer ring. The track consists of over 20 test circuits and areas, one being a 106,000 square-meter ‘dynamic platform which has also been subjected to a full renovation.

There are still plenty of companies wanting to get their hands (and wheels) on it, with over 90 of them still on the roster with frequent use. And of course, there are the odd few TV shows that use it for our own entertainment.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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