with AMG GT3 in its legendary livery
Black Falcon starts the 24 Hours Nürburgring in blue and yellow
After being together for 10 years, most people would normally celebrate their 10th anniversary and maybe treat themselves to a pretty new ring. BILSTEIN and BLACK FALCON, however, are quite happy to still be "married" to the good old Nürburgring, indulging instead in a hot blue and yellow racing car based on the brand new AMG GT3. The car will be in action from 26th to 29th May at the legendary 24-hour race – as well as at the VLN throughout the season.
Racing cars in the corporate colours of the suspension experts from Ennepetal in Germany are something of a tradition, but this is the first time that they have ever featured a star in the grille or the emblem of the "Black Falcon" on the bonnet. Significantly, from 2016, BLACK FALCON is also the official AMG Performance Team. However, the blue and yellow race car is just one of a total three identical AMG GT3 cars which will be competing for the successful racing team this year. Incidentally, the new 4-way version of the BILSTEIN MDS (modular damping system) is also making its début with BLACK FALCON. The planned drivers of the blue and yellow AMG GT3 for the 24h race are as high-calibre as the technology itself. German drivers Dirk Müller, Nico Bastian and Hubert Haupt, along with Dutch driver Yelmer Buurman, will all be at the wheel.
Switching from the SLS AMG GT3 to the AMG GT3, the suspension system has also been developed further – and not just in terms of its additional adjustment capabilities. Many aspects of the racing car have been aerodynamically optimised – something that needed to be taken into consideration when designing the spring/shock absorber set-up. Moreover, it was essential to minimise the outer diameter of the gas-pressure shock absorbers, since the improved airflow system required more space. Nonetheless, the new 4-way system also needs to be even more powerful than its 2-way predecessor. Larger spring rates and smaller suspension travel, in conjunction with the extremely effective aerodynamics, result in up to 16,000 Newtons acting on each individual shock absorber in the compression stroke. For the purposes of comparison: this corresponds to a weight force of more than 1.6 tonnes!
It's the many little details that all come together to make the AMG GT3 a much better car, one that is likely to be able to overcome the many adversities of the "Green Hell". If there ever was a race track that continually pushes drivers, teams and vehicles to their very limits, then that is most definitely the Nürburgring's legendary Nordschleife – an environment where BILSTEIN and BLACK FALCON have long felt at home.
