Sir Jackie Stewart nick named it the Green Hell, to others it is the Nordschleife, the Nürburgring or to many simply "The 'Ring"
Opened in 1927 the 'Ring has a fearsome reputation for breaking cars and drivers, the original track comprised of the Nordschleife and the Sudschelife - north loop and south loop -and was a massive 28km long. It took 3,000 workers and roughly 15 million Deutsche Marks to build it, that's a lot of money now but back in 1927?
Officially, there are 73 turns - 40 right and 33 left - the actual number is disputed as there are very few parts of the track that you can really call straight.
The track has become a Mecca for petrolheads and wanna be race drivers, especially after featuring in an episode of Top Gear and numerous video games, not to mention the huge number of YouTube clips, many of which feature drivers getting it very wrong.
Those of you who have watched the movie "Rush" will know that it was also the site of Nikkia Lauda's accident in 1976.
The current outright lap record still belongs to Stefan Bellof and was set way back in 1983 - 6.11.13 in a Porsche 956C, even the mighty hypercars of today with their 4 digit horsepower are some way off this achievement.
The current track is roughly 13 miles long and has an elevation change of 300m between the higest and lowest points - something that no amount of Playstation time will prepare you for.
Due to the nature of the track and the sheer length of it, many cars can reach their maximum speed, this is most apparent when you are bombing along at 130 mph, thinking to yourself, "this is quick", only to be passed by a Porsche GT3 or BMW M something or other at 160mph. Indeed a GT3 or GTRS is a common track weapon here along with pretty much every M badged BMW.
So given all the above and having watched many horrendous crashes on YouTube why did I and 5 of my fellow Wessex Car Club members strike out for the Eifel mountains and the Green Hell? Because it is simply the best track in the world and attracts so many cars, drivers, exotics not to mention there is always the chance you could see a prototype car being tested you cannot call yourself a petrolhead without visiting at least once - which was my original plan back in 2011.
The Wessex vehicles were a MX5, RX8, Civic Type R, Boxster, Focus RS, motorhome and a motorcycle - sorry they all look the same to me so apart from it was 600 I can't tell you what! So a fairly varied bunch I think you will agree.
If you are a track day driver or indeed a race driver - you have to visit the 'Ring.
As well as the obvious attraction of the Nordschleife there is also the GP Circuit, we were lucky enough to drive the combined “VLN” layout on the Saturday. In addition to the two tracks the area itself has stunning scenery and fantastic driving roads. The road between Nurburg and Adenau would not look out of place on a tarmac rally stage.
Even if you are not lapping the ‘Ring it’s worth lapping the car parks to look at some of the cars that turn up, especially at the weekend if the weather is good.
There are also several places you need to visit on your trip – one of those is the Pistenklause restaurant, it is absolutely crammed with racing memorabilia and very good value for money. The speciality being the steak on a hot stone, this is a large chunk of steak, with chips and a salad, that comes to you on a hot ceramic brick. Whilst you may say that you are cooking your own dinner it is a must visit venue, just don’t put pepper on the hot stone!
Ristorante Pizzeria Pinocchio – or simply Pinocchio’s on Adenau is also a popular restaurant serving up good Italian food – try the pizza.
I’ve been coming to the ‘Ring since 2011, when I visited as a “one off” Birthday present – I was hooked straight away and have been organising trips for the Wessex Car Club since 2012. It is a very special place and a destination that should be on every car lovers bucket list.
And yes, I’m already planning for 2018.
View from the Hotel
Track Weapons
Pistenklause interior
The famous Steak on a hot stone
Pizza at Pinocchio's
The Wessex crew