People will really take anything out on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It’s one of the the most infamous and dangerous race tracks on earth, but it operates like a one-way unrestricted toll road. I’ve found my favorite ‘Ring car yet: a glass-sided Audi hearse. Excuse me, I have a new final request to put into a will.
“We put the fun in funeral” certainly seems to be accurate here.
While no one appears to be riding in the back, that seems to be a missed opportunity. Why spread your ashes over the hills of whatever or dump your body into the sea when you can get in one last lap?
Of course, they’re not the only unlikely ‘ring tool in this compilation. There’s plenty of good beaters, classic metal and even one of those strange Fiat 500s modified for unsupervised young drivers. Plus, whoever decided to moon all the photographers who hang out at Brünnchen is a comedic genius.
UPDATE: The hearse’s owner, Jamie Orr, recognized his hearse and filled us in with a few more details and beauty shots—like the fact that it’s based on an Audi 80, not any of Audi’s bigger cars from the era. If Orr’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the mad genius who’s saving a Volkswagen Golf Harlequin from a junkyard in California.
Orr picked up the hearse in Spain and drove it across Europe last month, where it and Orr’s Volkswagen Fox were eventually shipped on a Volkswagen Group vessel over to the U.S., where he lives.
The Fox had been shipped over for a Volkswagen event in Austria this summer. Surprisingly, he says that the Fox on Pennsylvania plates—which also went on the Nürburgring multiple times because you pretty much have to—got nearly many curious looks as the Audi 80 hearse. Here are some more photos of both cars’ trip to the ‘Ring:
I’m not just envious of Orr’s adventures—I’m also getting pretty jealous of whatever kind of storage space he must have to keep picking up cool old VW products.