Max Fiebig of Subaru explains in an interview why the Nürburgring is an important development location for the company.

How long has your company been using the Nürburgring for testing and development activities, and what role does the Nordschleife play in your development work today?
The programme began in 1989 as a crucial phase in the development of the Legacy for the European market. Since 1992, starting with the first generation of the Impreza WRX (GC series), the circuit has been used continuously as a fully-fledged development facility. For SUBARU/STI, the Nürburgring Nordschleife serves both as an early-stage development environment and as the ‘final testing ground for vehicle development’, and is regarded as ‘the place where weaknesses inevitably come to light’. It is described as ‘the world’s most demanding collection of public roads’ – a circuit that replicates real-world driving conditions to the very limit.

There are numerous test facilities around the world. In your view, what makes the Nordschleife so unique, and what insights can be gained here that are difficult or impossible to obtain elsewhere?
Over its 20.8 km length, the Nürburgring Nordschleife combines every possible situation that can occur on public roads – including high-speed sections, slow-speed sections, bumps, unevenness, uneven road surfaces and steep gradients. Furthermore, the Eifel region is known for its highly changeable climate, where conditions resembling all four seasons can occur within a single day. SUBARU regards this circuit as a ‘microcosm of the world’s roads’ and uses it to evaluate the driving dynamics of both development vehicles and production models. The “benchmark for the SUBARU/STI driving experience” is based on insights that can only be gained here.

・Stability at high speeds
・Steering response
・Traction provided by the symmetrical all-wheel drive
・Tyre grip influenced by the bodywork and chassis
These factors serve as criteria for determining whether a vehicle offers the ‘typical SUBARU driving experience’.

What role do factors such as the track layout, infrastructure, the surrounding automotive ecosystem, and the history and reputation of the Nürburgring play in this context?
As mentioned earlier, SUBARU/STI regards the Nordschleife as a race track that offers an extreme, realistic simulation of driving conditions – a crucial element in the development of better cars. However, thanks to the efforts of the Nürburgring’s staff to preserve its traditions, the circuit is regarded as one of the most demanding race tracks both within and outside the automotive industry. Consequently, we believe that it has taken on a role not only as a platform for better product development, but also as a marketing tool that builds trust in the market.

Your company is not headquartered in Germany. Why do you go to the trouble of transporting staff, vehicles and components to the Nürburgring?
We have great respect for all German car manufacturers and the Nürburgring. The driving experience and handling of German cars set them apart from those of other countries – not only at the Nürburgring, but also in everyday road traffic, for example when changing lanes on the motorway or navigating roundabouts. We can learn so much from German road conditions and the country’s advanced motoring culture, and we are convinced that the benefits we derive from this far outweigh the effort involved in transporting our staff, vehicles, parts and equipment there. SUBARU also uses the Nürburgring as a global development centre and ensures that the knowledge gained there is applied not only to European models but also to vehicles worldwide.

How important is the Nürburgring for the perception of your brand and your products, both in your home markets and internationally?
We believe that this is also a platform on which the reliability of SUBARU/STI vehicles (the benchmark for SUBARU/STI performance) and the superiority of the boxer engine, combined with symmetrical all-wheel drive, are demonstrated, and that it serves as a solid foundation on which customers can confidently choose SUBARU/STI vehicles based on their driving performance.

What role does the Nordschleife play for companies wishing to strengthen or expand their credibility and market presence in Europe?
The Nürburgring Nordschleife is generally regarded as an established benchmark, meaning that testing there can contribute to reliability by demonstrating how a vehicle behaves under demanding real-world conditions. At the same time, electrification is shifting development priorities, and BEVs present different challenges compared to conventional, track-oriented applications. It is therefore necessary to validate aspects such as thermal behaviour, energy consumption and consistent performance not only through simulation, but also under the dynamic conditions of the Nordschleife.

How do you incorporate the Nürburgring into your product development communications, and what significance do record lap times or other publicly communicated test results have in this context?
The current SUBARU/STI aims to incorporate the insights gained from the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring into its production vehicles, with the aim of creating cars that anyone – regardless of their driving ability – can drive safely and effortlessly without tiring, and which make drivers want to keep driving them further and further. We continue to take part in this race to demonstrate this advantage. Whilst we do not deny the significance of test results such as speed records (lap times), we do not regard these as the most important factor; rather, we see the race as a pivotal event that symbolises our company’s development philosophy of sincerely and continuously striving for improvement.