Nurburgring sold to a German automotive firm (surprise) for $116 million

By Nick Jaynes March 12, 2014

Nurburgring track birds eye — Dale Lomas / BridgeToGantry.com

We here at Digital Trends are a bit critical of the Nurburgring, the infamous racetrack in Germany.

We recognize the “Green Hell,” as Sir Jackie Stewart calls it, is an important place for the motoring world and its significance. We just don’t like how automakers have become obsessed with rounding the ‘Ring as fast as possible in production cars. We think this obsession has made cars worse to own and drive daily. But I digress.

This story isn’t about maligning the ‘Ring but rather discussing its newest owners: German automotive firm Capricorn Group.

Capricorn Group won a last-minute $116 million bid to buy the Nurburgring this week, just beating out a group of Americans from HIG. The decision came so close to the deadline that soon-to-be owner Adam Osieka lost sleep over the impending deal. “I haven’t slept for two nights, and nothing was decided until the last moment,” Osieka admitted.

According to Piston Heads, Capricorn Group has some big plans for the ‘Ring. The newly formed Capricorn Nurburgring will relocate the roller coaster to another town in the region, scrap the widely disparaged card payment system, and remodel the current Eifeldorf as a Silverstone-style technology park.

While we’re sad Americans don’t now own the Nurburgring, we’re glad it didn’t go belly up. As much as we think performance cars have suffered at the hands of the ‘Ring, we would hate to see such an iconic piece of tarmac go the way of the polar bear.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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