Overall rating:

It's taken over a decade for it to happen, but Kyle has finally managed to get a few laps in at the haloed tarmac of the Nordschleife. Fast laps too, thanks to some expert help.

Key Facts

Pricing: £82,629
Engine: 3.8-litre flat-six petrol
Transmission: rear-wheel drive, seven-speed paddle-shift automatic
Body style: two-door coupé
Rivals: Aston Martin V8 Vantage, BMW M6, Jaguar XKR
CO₂ emissions: 205g/km
Combined economy: 32.5mpg
Top speed: 187mph
0-62mph: 4.3 seconds
Power: 400hp at 7,400rpm
Torque: 438Nm at 5,600rpm

Twelve years in this business and not once have I driven around the Nordschleife. Not by design, more by accident; previous attempts have always been thwarted with diary clashes or last minute changes. I got as close once as waiting in the queue to get on in my own 205 GTi before it was closed in front of me - meaning at no time have I driven on the haloed tarmac. Until today.

No easy introduction either. I'm in a Porsche 911 Carrera S with the PDK transmission, standard brakes and road tyres and have another in front of me with Christian Menzel in it. He has driven thousands of laps here, race laps, so he knows the place better than most. Better than me certainly, as my knowledge of it is limited to a few corners I've stood on the outside of watching races, the odd in-car footage video and a handful of laps on GranTurismo many years ago.

Senior stuff then. That's clearly underlined by the metal (or in many cases carbon fibre) that's lined up to take part in the Sport Auto track event: four 911 GT2 RSs, at least three regular GT2s, four 4.0-litre 911 GT3 RS, more GT3s than I can count, as well as a McLaren MP4-12C, a smattering of Ferraris and numerous track spec sports cars and hatchbacks. Predominantly Porsches though, the familiar shape of the 911 making up the majority of the traffic.

We've two days, each group running with an instructor up front. They're easy to spot, walking around the collection area with the confidence that comes with enormous driving skill and knowledge of this place. The rest of us don't carry off the nonchalance with such effortlessness.

Indeed, I'm not ashamed to admit I'm more than a little bit nervous. Christian describes the first lap as a sighting lap, but he's not hanging about, while talking us through the various corners around the track. With 13 miles of track there are 154 turns, making me thankful for Menzel's knowledge ahead of me. With the radio crackling with encouragement, our sighting lap gets ever faster, as the affable German racer tows me around his backyard.

It really is like no other circuit. Little wonder Jackie Stewart dubbed it 'The Green Hell', it feeling more like a country road than proper race track. The run-off areas are virtually non-existent, the kerbs brutal and much of the hugely undulating circuit's ribbon of tarmac is lined by trees behind the famously expensive barriers. The gradient changes are the biggest surprise though, even having climbed up from Adenau when watching at the 24-hour race I was not prepared for the elevation changes the track takes.

That, the countless blind bends and savage bumps like Flugplatz that, as the name suggests will have the car airborne, presents a unique challenge, one that as the laps rise I relish with increasing fervour. Fear of the barriers sees me leave the PSM (ESP) stability systems on, though in Sport Plus the Carrera S will still move around. PDK isn't something I'd usually choose, being a bit of an old-school manual fan, but here, when there's so much else going on, finger-flipping changes are handy - even if the auto gearbox does kick-down at times when I'd rather it didn't.

After eight or so laps I've a bit of feel for the place, though I'd never admit to knowing it. Christian does though and he pushes on. I check the Sport Chrono timer and from bridge to gantry - the common means of a measured lap - we've achieved an 8 minutes 19 seconds time. Some way off the 7 minutes 40 seconds possible in the car, but I'm happy. Without Menzel to follow, I manage an 8 minutes 34 seconds with a bit of traffic, though decide in the same way I'll never ski the last run of the day that any more lapping will end in trouble. Better to leave with a healthy respect and a desire for some more. Twelve years it has taken me to get here. I don't think I'll leave it so long next time...