Spherical Porsche in the Leica curve
When the Nürburgring-Nordschleife opens its gates for tourist drives at the weekend, numerous car fans make the pilgrimage to the Eifel to watch the action on the track. The most popular section of the track is Brünnchen, where a particularly large number of spectators gather - because a particularly large number of tourist drivers mess up here. Not a day goes by without a crash, which the common onlooker is only too happy to capture on video and then present to the gleeful crowd on the Internet. In scene circles, the uphill right with the overused gravel bed has therefore now established itself under the nickname "YouTube corner".
Yet the phenomenon is not so new - in fact, it is so old that it could theoretically also be referred to as the "Leica curve". Even 60 years ago, Germans loved to roll their Beetles onto their roofs and their Baroque Taunus onto their sides in the Brünnchen. The rear swing axle of the Volkswagen also made the somersault a fairly simple exercise. Then as now, apart from the driver's pride, nobody was usually seriously injured. Instead, the spectators of the Sunday hustle and bustle received a free lesson in deterrent driving - and, incidentally, a very clear explanation of why the Beetle was also known as the "Kugelporsche".
