It is no longer questioning how popular the Nurburgring is when it comes to automakers testing their upcoming vehicles. A lot of automakers have often chosen this particular test track as the most ideal spot for evaluating their test mules. Yet, this does not necessarily mean that automakers and the track in question are the best of friends. At least, this is the case with a fine example of the test mule for the upcoming 911 Turbo Facelift from Porsche. Believe it or not, the car has recently crashed on the track, before it is even launched at all.
What makes things even more ironic is the fact that Porsche is an automaker from Germany and the Nurburgring is a German track. Still, it seems that the vehicle does not have what it takes to perform at the Nurburgring. Either that or the test driver is simply not qualified enough to do what he is supposed to do. Honestly, though, I’d bet on the latter. Just so you know, Porsche has spent no less than fifty years improving the rear-mounted flat 6-cylinder engine on the 911 Turbo, making the car one of the best and most reliable and effective supercars money can buy. Yet again, if we consider the fact that test drivers are normally expected to push the boundaries of any vehicle they test, then this ‘little’ incident may not be too much of a surprise, at least not for the German automaker.
The test mule of the Porsche 911 Turbo facelift crashed as it was wandering around the Pflanzgarten section of the popular Nurburgring test track. The aforementioned section of the track was named after a plant nursery that was once there and this very section will always ultimately test the capabilities of a vehicle and the skills of its test driver with a combination of corners and hefty elevation changes. Add those to limited entry visibility and any driver, even the best ones, may happen to crash.
After the incident, Porsche had to call a trailer to pick up its 911 Turbo test mule. However, to be honest, the damages on the car did not seem severe and the driver also escaped without meaningful injuries whatsoever. The crash impacted the front and rear bumpers as well as the headlamps of the vehicle.
