Sticking to the racing stripes on Germany’s Nurburgring isn’t easy under the best of circumstances. Cutting the apex like a boss is certainly not easy, let alone doing it during an open track session. The driver in the video above makes it look too easy.
For the record, his driver’s name is Filip and he is circling the track in a Volkswagen Golf 7 GTI. However, this isn’t a stock GTI – the brakes and suspension are upgraded, and a quick glance inside the cabin reveals a full cage with no less carbon fiber trim. The car is clearly prepared for carving corners, and to help on the straights, Filip says the GTI’s turbocharged four-cylinder is cranked up to around 370 horsepower.
He told this to Misha Charoudin, who is certainly no stranger to the Nurburgring. His YouTube channel is full of action around Nordschleife, and Filip is a friend who also knows a thing or two about the track. Also, it seems that Filip has learned a few things since their last meeting, as Charoudin was very impressed by the end of the race.
We don’t have to wait until the round is over to make that decision. The in-car camera caught Charoudin’s reaction during the run, and although he looked a little bored at first, that quickly changed in the zone of the first hard braking to Hohenrain. The slowdown triggers a damper error in the VeeDub’s electronic brain, which activates stability control for the remainder of the lap.
And it works… a lot. We also saw the hot hatch top out at 145 mph (234 kph), but this round isn’t about pure speed. Filip maintained a very consistent pace through the more demanding sections of the iconic track, especially down the back between Karussell. The result was a bridge-to-gantry time of less than eight minutes, and he released the throttle some distance before the gantry. Also, not a single car passed him the entire loop.
That’s how you tame the Green Hell, my friends.
