Interview with Suspension Guru Manfred Wollgarten

As a Touring Car driver, you naturally know better than anyone how to bring springs and dampers "up to speed".

MW: In fact we use the phrase "Suspension Technology approved on the Nürburgring" for our suspension marketing. Our know-how makes a contribution to this but in the end, this philosophy is a piece of our identity which is derived directly from motorsport.

Interviewer: But as a racing driver, to a certain extent don't you have to be focussed and perhaps sacrifice other qualities important to the customer, such as suitability for
everyday use and comfort? How many compromises are acceptable to you on this point?

MW: As you suggest in your question, only a few of our customers actually utilize the possibility of taking their car onto the track.

But anyone who has a BMW or MINI tuned by AC Schnitzer wants to be sure that he could do so safely. It's a bit like the SUV buyers who want their vehicle to have good off-road abilities even if they almost never take it off the road. And of course there - like with us - no customer wants to give up a certain comfort level.

So my philosophy is "Better fast than hard". Our success in achieving this is proven time and time again by tests in key car magazines.

Interviewer: So can we assume that AC Schnitzer achieves fast lap times by compromises
elsewhere. For example, with a particularly "vicious" set up in the limit zone. What would
once have been a high risk for the average driver should be manageable in times of ESP?

MW: That would not be very responsible, and the wrong answer for us. Electronic driver aids
should only be the last resort and not conceal suspension defects for example. To keep the car
intuitively manageable, handling must in principle remain as standard. Good-natured load-change reactions and gentle understeer in the limit zone are important.

This not only improves safety, but also increases the driving pleasure which comes with our products right from the first metre.

Nothing frustrates and disturbs a driver more than a car which is not under his control. Our
suspension is at home everywhere: on public roads and on race tracks. For enthusiastic drivers who often take their car onto the track, we offer racing suspension. As the damper settings are adjustable, in combination with equally adjustable antiroll bars, the vehicle handling can be modified as desired.