We call the Friday before Easter ‘Good Friday’, but in Germany it’s actually called Karfreitag. That roughly translates to ‘Car Friday’. The epicenter for this day in Germany is the Nürburgring, so on the Friday before last I got my camera gear together, filled up the car and made the three-hour journey to the Green Hell for Car Freitag festivities.
Two and an half hours into the drive I knew the event was going to be wild; on the derestricted highways some performance metal passed me by at incredible speeds. But another thing I noticed was that the arrival time on Google Maps was increasing the closer I got to the Nürburgring. The traffic headed for the ‘Ring was so heavy that I eventually arrived an hour later than I had expected to.
If you’ve never visited the Nürburgring, you probably won’t know that Nürburg, where it’s located, is just a small village. So when there are thousands of car enthusiasts looking for a parking spot, and parking is limited because it’s not an official race day, the roads become gridlocked really fast.
I chose to park my car at Apex Nürburg, an official Nürburgring taxi company that rents out track-focused cars and offers passenger rides in their Manthey-Racing-prepared Porsche GT2 RS. But more on that later.
I had planned to go see several spots on and around the track, but because of the amount of traffic and lack of parking, I decided to focus my attention on the entrance of the Nürburgring. So let’s dive right in to Car Freitag 2022…
The first car I noticed from a distance was this BMW E34 Touring, but it got even better close up – it’s fitted with a full roll cage and Recaro seats up front. After some time on the ‘Ring it was overheating, so the owner had the car sitting to cool down, before filling the tank and heading back out again.
Using a car for its intended use always gets my approval, and the owner of this Mercedes Benz AMG GT Black Series wasted no time getting his gloves and racing shoes on and running some laps. In the right hands (read: Maro Engel, long-time Mercedes-AMG factory driver) this model is capable of a 6:43 Nürburgring lap, which is moving. I love the details like the carbon AMG logo.
This BMW F80 M3 GT3 wouldn’t be out of place at a car show, but when you realize it can do a 7:11 laptime from Bridge to Gantry, you know it also means business. If you want to see it in action, check out the video its owner Cristian Vidal made of a lap from the day.
Like I mentioned in the intro, I parked my car at the Apex Nürburg compound. This Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR (MR for Manthey-Racing) edition is one of their cars you can pay to have taxi laps in. The guy stepping out of the car in the image above is Tom Morley, one of Apex’s professional racing drivers. Last year, Ryan Stewart did a great write-up on a Manthey-Racing GT3 RS MR.
By now you might have noticed a few Spanish license plates. It seem as though a number of cars were trailered from Spain to the ‘Ring especially for Car Freitag, one of them being this green BMW E46 M3 that ran a 7:49 Bridge to Gantry lap during the day.
Another favorite was this very yellow BMW E92 M3 with a big spec that includes RAYS Volk Racing TE37 wheels, AP Racing brakes, custom front fenders and a massive rear wing. Those are just the things I could see from the outside; I’m sure there’s much more under its skin.
A paradox on wheels is what I call this… The Lamborghini Huracan STO is built for the track, but during Car Freitag, with Touristenfahrten rules in effect, it’s too loud to use on the ‘Ring. Yes, even at the Nürburgring there are noise limits. Other than that it’s a cool car, even if some of the color choices owners make are a little, err… gaudy.
At one point I felt like the Spechunter, trying to find the best new-model Porsche 911 GT3 with the best specification. There were literally dozens of them parked up in the lot at the ‘Ring entrance, from black to white and this, which I’ll call NATO Green. I wonder if this is a PTS (paint to sample) color or maybe just a wrap?
I’m going to finish things off with Car Freitag summed up in a single image: An EG Honda Civic followed by the Lamborghini Aventador S. It really is that diverse, but if you need more proof, be sure to check out the huge gallery of images below.
Jeroen Willemsen
Instagram: jaccojeroen
Well; if i have enaugh cash to the point a Huracan STO is my track toy, i need it to be "gaudy" up to 11.
It's healthy to see this diversity in a single place add to that it's on a proper track ready to be properly used.
this isn't gaudy. It's pissing ugly. There are so many flashy but still classy STOs with two tone that don't look GOD AWFUL. I had the pleasure of driving 30 minutes to the beach at 6AM a few weeks back, the entire way door to door with a blue STO with light blue two tone
This isn't gaudy. Its Farting ugly. There are so many flashy but still classy STOs with two tone that don't look GOD AWFUL. I had the pleasure of being driven 30 minutes to the beach at 6am a few weeks back with a sexy real estate agent in a blue STO with light blue two tone.
not saying i will spec it the same colors plus everyone has his own taste (and some have awful taste) but i understand the weird/unorthodox color choices (not the combos themselves).
For me, i will have it in midnight purple because.... why not
What model is the black BMW tag ET 725 RN?
Love the photos.
another little gem that the usa will never get. at first look i thought the camper was on top of it then i looked closer. LOL
nice to see the diversity of cars there on a "track day".
That's a 1 series F21 facelift most probably an M135/M140. Been looking for 1 for a while but can't find a bargain yet.
Feel the need to explain that "Karfreitag" translates to "Grieving Friday", despite all our manufacturers there's no car related public holiday around.
Karfreitag is a public holiday tho that allowed people to take pleasure drives or thrashings around the Ring, hence car guys pseudo-translating it to "Car-Freitag" (as most Germans have no idea what the word "Kar" means either)
I am proud that in a Speedhunters post, there are so many Spanish license plates!!!
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I love/hate to watch those Youtube videos where they show the cars on the Nürburgring wiping out when they take corners too fast or brake too late. Most of the time, it's a BMW M3 that takes the brunt of the abuse. I always wondered why the M3 was the model that crashed the most and now I know why; the M3 seems to be the most popular car to take to the 'Ring.
Dark green 911. Want.
I don't think there was a Dark green 911 in this article. The NATO green 911 would be the one I'd have.
The amount of BMW in here is *gaudy*, fanboi vibes are too strong w this speedhunter. There mustve been so many creative and unique machines that attended but instead this was a preteen's pintrest.
I'm not sure if you have been to the Nürburgring, but as someone who lives at beside the track, I can confirm that this is the level and mix of BMW that you see at the Nürburgring. You can go to TF any day of the week and the dominant car models will be BMW 3 Series and Porsche 991 GT3 RS. There is no creativity or uniqueness to the ringtools here. They are built for purpose. A colourful wrap is as creative as they can become.
I'd love to know more about the E34 Touring you shot! Looks so track-focused!!!!