Automanie.net

Conducting tests on the most demanding track in the world, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, has always been a matter of course for BMW. After all, this track - respectfully referred to by many as the "Grüne Hölle ("Green Hell") - provides a highly concentrated dose of all levels of difficulty confronting an automobile in everyday road traffic.



BMW test drivers have been permanent guests here since the sixties, using a former BMW dealership as their base. In 1991, the building once owned by BMW dealer Willi Martini was taken over by BMW, and the rooms were also used as a base for the BMW Motorsport Team. Activities for the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), Super Touring Car Championship (STW), ADAC GT Cup and various 24-hour race entries were all part of the program here, as well as the technical and organisational co-ordination for the popular BMW Ring Taxi.

However, as time went on the premises and facilities became overstretched and extensive reconstruction was finally necessary. During a three-year period of reconstruction, the BMW Test Centre at the Nürburgring was turned into a building site and now the facility has officially gone into operation as the third site of BMW M GmbH.

In three construction phases since October 2003, modern high-tech workshop facilities have been created which enable BMW AG and BMW M GmbH to test cars for serial production readiness and develop new vehicle projects directly on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The workshop area in particular has been significantly enlarged as compared to the previous facilities. Formerly comprising only four car lifts, the premises now comprise a now a total of eleven workplaces with car lifts including a new wash hall, a new wheel alignment facility and a so-called one-way street system. Thanks to induction loops and a sophisticated barrier system, it is now possible to go through the workshop facility without crossing an intersection, which also creates more space in the interior of the BMW Test Centre.



To ensure that all staff feel at home, a new leisure wing has been added with a common room, and the team base has also been refurbished. Since test results and protocols have to be transmitted quickly to the research centres in Munich and Garching, technicians and engineers now work in a generously sized office with some 30 computer workplaces.

Finally, two exhibition and conference rooms have been created, the reception area has been separated and renewed and the exterior redecorated. All in all, a total of 870 square metres of building space has now been increased to 1,178 square metres and 5,131 cubic metres of refurbished space has been expanded to 9,000 cubic metres.

Thanks to this reconstruction project, which has been carried out without imposing significant limitations on ongoing test operations, BMW AG and BMW M GmbH now have a test centre which fulfils all modern requirements and which will demonstrate BMW's pioneering test expertise at the Nürburgring for years to come.