Motorsports Mondial
NARDO TECHNICAL CENTER TRACK REOPENS AFTER RENOVATION
Apulia, ITALY — Porsche Engineering Group — which has managed the Nardo Technical Center since 2012 — reopened the historic track late last week after a seven-month, $40 million renovation.
At the heart of the work was renovating the 12.6-kilometer high-speed circular track and other testing circuits.
In a statement, Porsche said “besides the complex asphalting of the renowned circular track, an innovative guardrail system developed by Porsche Engineering specifically for the high-speed testing activities in Nardo was installed. The project also included the complete renovation of the car dynamic platform with an area of 106,000 square meters.”
1994 World record with fastest natural gas vehicle by Bugatti
Founded in 1975 as a Fiat testing facility, Nardo includes more than 20 tracks and 90 automotive clients. Among the record speeds recorded on its circular track were the first lap at 400 km/h by the Mercedes-Benz C111-IV in 1979, a diesel-powered record by the Volkswagen ARW in 1980, 24-hour speed records by various Porsche 928s, a methane-powered record by the Bugatti EB110GT in 1994 and an electric car record by the Bertone ZER in 1994.