What is sports car manufacturer Porsche->ke1 to do when it becomes bored with its own testing grounds, Weissach, and the Nürburgring just doesn’t allow its cars to reach their full potential? Buy a new testing facility, silly… Yup, Porsche lumped down an undisclosed sum of money – which is certainly more than we could imagine earning in a lifetime – to purchase Europe’s longest circular track, and everything else that comes with it.

That’s right; Porsche has officially purchased the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, which houses not only a 7-mile, four-lane oval track whose banks allow for speeds of up to 240 KM/h (149 mph), but also seven additional tracks that test various parts of vehicle, including: dynamics, multiple pavement response (cobblestone, potholes, uneven, etc.), high-speed noise, handling, off-road performance, and braking.

This really puts Porsche in a position to not only beat out its competition while saving money on testing fees, but it also allows it to better hone other brands that it is linked to, like Volkswagen->ke94, Lamborghini->ke44, and Bugatti->ke16. This also gives Porsche yet another revenue stream, as Nardò is one of the more popular testing tracks in Europe.

The thing about Porsche vehicles is that though they are much faster than your average cars, they are not about top speed, when compared to the likes of Lamborghini->ke44, Ferrari->ke252, and McLaren->ke284. Could this mean that Porsche may start pushing the limits on its upcoming vehicles and maybe flirt with the 200 mph mark? Not likely, but it is definitely a sweet idea to consider. Likely, this track is going to be the testing home for racing models, but we may catch the occasional 911->ke282 stretching its legs a little.

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