The Nordschleife, notorious for its spectacular crashes during the Formula One days of the 1950s and 1960s, will see the BMW Sauber F1 team return to the circuit late next month as part of a promotion celebrating BMW’s racing past. The team will be running the new F1.07 car piloted by Nick Heidfeld along the 12.4mile circuit as well as BMW’s World Touring Car Championship cars and several other historic race vehicles.

An F1 car hasn’t competed at the Nordschleife in over 31 years, after the track was dropped from the event’s calendar in 1976. BMW will also be running its famous M5 'Ring taxi' as well as its 320si WTCC car and its Z4 M Coupe, with several BMW Works drivers taking passengers for a fast lap they won’t soon forget. "It's our way of saying thank you to the fans for their support," said BMW’s F1 team boss Mario Theissen.

The current record for the circuit is 6min 11sec, which was done by Stefan Bellof back in 1983 driving a Group C Porsche. To put that into perspective, modern supercars like the Bugatti Veyron took 7min 40secs to complete it, while the Porsche Carrera GT and Pagani Zonda F took 7mins 28secs and 7mins 32secs respectively. As for Heidfeld, his “demonstration will not be about setting records, but a tribute to a unique race track” said Theissen. We have a feeling his lap time will come very close to that record, and may even beat it.

Follow the jump to see a list of track times and average speeds for several other cars.

7:28 --- 166.652 km/h -- Porsche Carrera GT, 612 PS/ 1475 kg

7:32 -- 164.071 km/h –- Pagani Zonda F, 650 PS/ 1230 kg

7:34 --- 163.586 km/h -- Koenigsegg CCR, 806 PS/1418 kg

7.39 -- 161.575 km/h -- Porsche 997 GT3, 415 PS/1395 kg

7:39 --- 161.575 km/h -- Koenigsegg CCR, 806 PS/1180 kg,

7:40 --- 161.217 km/h –- Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, 1001 PS/1980 kg

7:40 -- 161.217 km/h –- Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, 640 PS/1655 kg

7:40 --- 161.217 km/h -- Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren,

7:40 --- 161.217 km/h -- Porsche 997 Turbo, 480 PS

7:42 -- 160.519 km/h –- Ford GT, 550 PS/ 1521 kg

7:42 --- 160.519 km/h -- Mosler MT900S Photon

7:42 --- 160.519 km/h -- Radical 1500 SR3, 230 PS/510 kg

7:42.9 - 160.207 km/h -- Corvette Z06, 500 PS/1319 kg

7:44 --- 159.828 km/h -- Pagani Zonda C12 S, 555 PS/1388 kg

7:45 --- 159.484 km/h -- Gemballa Porsche GTR 600, 600hp (00)

7:46 --- 159.142 km/h -- Jaguar XJ220

7:50 --- 157.787 km/h -- BMW E46 M3 CSL, 360 PS/1421 kg

7:52 --- 157.119 km/h -- Lamborghini Gallardo E-gear, 493 PS/1496 kg

7:54 --- 156.456 km/h -- Mercedes CLK DTM AMG, 582 PS/1678kg

7:55 --- 156.126 km/h -- Caterham R500 Superlight, Robert Nearn

7:55 --- 156.126 km/h –- Ferrari F430 F1, 490 PS/1493 kg

7:56 --- 155.798 km/h -- Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, 425 PS/1387 kg

7:56 --- 155.798 km/h -- Porsche 996 Turbo, 420 PS/1569 kg

7:58 --- 156.652 km/h -- Audi RS4 4.2 V8 FSI, 420 PS/ 1650 kg

7:59 --- 154.822 km/h -- Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R