Aston Martin's Lord of the 'ring

Two cars about to go on sale in New Zealand will be put through a demanding test before their arrival - the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race.

Aston Martin will return to the legendary circuit for the fifth consecutive year, this time with its new four-door sports car, the Rapide, which is due in New Zealand in July.

And Peugeot will contest the race with its RCZ coupe, also due in July.

Both cars join a growing list of new production models for this year's May 15-16 classic.

Long-time Nurburgring competitor Volkswagen will also run a car that hasn't been long on the market in New Zealand, the TSI 2-litre petrol Scirocco.

But the engines in the three GT24 coupe racers will use compressed natural gas, reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent over a conventional petrol engine, says VW.

One of the Sciroccos will run an active electro-hydraulic differential in place of the conventional system in the other two cars.

The new differential is designed to improve handling by reducing understeer.

The Aston Martin Rapide will compete in near-standard specification apart from the necessary mandatory changes, like retuned suspension and slick tyres.

Interior trim has also been removed to reduce weight.

Chief executive Dr Ulrich Bez will be one of the drivers. He said: "This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car - it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny.

"The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars."

The V12 Rapide race car will be joined by a two-door V12 Vantage coupe, which finished 21st overall last year.

Peugeot has timed the Nurburgring event to roughly coincide with the launch of the RCZ in Europe. It is also part of Peugeot's 200th anniversary.

The French company set up shop in 1810, making tools.

It will race two RCZs, each with four drivers. One car will be run by a French team, the other by a German crew.

The cars will be numbered 200 and 201 to symbolise the bicentenary.

Powered by a 147kW 2-litre HDi engine and featuring only a few enhancements, the race-prepared versions of the limited-edition RCZ will compete in the D1T category for diesel cars with an engine capacity between 1700 and 2000cc.

Peugeot says both teams will comprise "gentleman drivers, enlightened motor racing enthusiasts, experienced drivers and fans of the marque".

Aston Martin's Bez isn't the only CEO at the wheel.

Jean-Philippe Peugeot, the vice-president of the PSA Group's supervisory board, will head the driver team for RCZ No 200.

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda competed in last year's event in a pre-production version of Lexus' first supercar, the LFA.

Two production LFAs will contest this year's Nurburgring event, which lends its name to a limited-edition version of the already limited LFA.