ROWE RACING and the SLS AMG GT3 are synonymous for excellent endurance performances. Since 2011, the German team has been competing with the gullwing from Affalterbach. This long-term co-operation has now been crowned by a successful extreme test to document the famous reliability of the Mercedes-AMG engines: without a single rebuild, one engine used by ROWE RACING has achieved the record distance of 50,000 kilometres, all completed at race speed and almost exclusively at one of the world’s most demanding race tracks, the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
ROWE’s managing director, Michael Zehe: “The purpose of this extraordinary test was to study the durability of the Mercedes-AMG engines in combination with the use of our ROWE high-tech lubricants. Now, we will thoroughly inspect the engine and we are expecting to acquire valuable insights for the technology transfer from the race track to the road.”
Just as remarkable as the record distance is also the successful history of the engine: the powerplant completed the 50,000 kilometres with victory in the ninth VLN season round, the ROWE DMV 250 miles’ race. At the finish, the odometer of the gullwing with starting number #6 showed exactly 50,150 kilometres. On the same day, the car had already caught the attention in the fastest-ever VLN qualifying session: with his time of 7:59.797 minutes, Christian Hohenadel remained under the magic eight minutes mark at the combination of Nürburgring sprint circuit and the Nordschleife. Victory for ROWE RACING in this year’s sixth season round, the six-hour race, was also achieved with the record engine, just like third place overall in the legendary 2014 Nürburgring 24-hour race.
ROWE RACING’s team principal, Hans-Peter Naundorf: “The engine wasn’t spared at all. Quite the contrary: we put it to the extreme both in sprint and endurance races over and over again. When an engine that has remained untouched and has completed such a mileage is still good for such results at the highest sporting level, it speaks for the quality of the engine and the ROWE products that were used”
The races of the ROWE RACING record engine at a glance:
– 28 races of the VLN Nürburgring
– 2 races of the Nürburgring 24-hour race
– 2 races of the ADAC GT Masters
The record distance of 50,000 kilometres equals:
– over 2,000 laps of the Nürburgring and its legendary Nordschleife
– more than twelve full Nürburgring 24-hour races
– approx. 1.25 times around the world, and that at race speed!
The engine at a glance:
AMG atmospheric V8 engine, front-middle location behind the front-axle, capacity 6208 cc, four valves per cylinder, dry-sump lubrication, approx. 550 hp at 7,300 rpm, approx. 650 Nm at 4,800 rpm, 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, top speed depending on gear ratios over 300 km/h.
