LeMans

Nissan R390 Amelia Concours 12

1998 Nissan R390 GT1 – Amelia Concours 2019 Highlight

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This one-of-a-kind machine is the only road-going variant of the Nissan R390 LeMans racecar series. It usually lives locked away in the Nissan’s Zama museum in Japan so we were very fortunate to have it attend the Amelia Island Concours 2019. Every vehicle ever looks stunning on bright green grass under Florida sun. The design is a thing of great beauty, even if the nose detailing is dull and this road variant lacks the giant rear wing of the racecars. The 3.5-liter V8 shoots 550 fiery horsepower out the rear bumper edges on command from inside the leather-wrapped cabin. We …

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2017 Porsche 908 RSR 31

Part Two – 2017 Porsche 908 RSR Vision GT Hommage Meets 919 and 917K

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Part Two: The RSR!   The crew behind the gorgeous longtail 908 VGT design have a new beast for 2017’s fantasy-cars daydream. A skilled group of professional car designers has been working on a side project after work hours for the last few years.  When not designing vehicles for a Chinese car brand, this group led by Alan Derosier has created magic in the form of not one — but two Vision Gran Turismo fantasy concepts.  They took the VGT idea to heart and applied it to one of the most storied brands in racing history: Porsche.  For licensing and …

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Porsche 908-04 Longtail - Vision GT Hommage (Part One) 28

Porsche 908-04 Longtail – Vision GT Hommage (Part One)

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A skilled group of professional car designers has been working on a side project after work hours for the last few years.  When not designing vehicles for a Chinese car brand, this group led by Alan Derosier has created magic in the form of not one — but two Vision Gran Turismo fantasy concepts.  They took the VGT idea to heart and applied it to one of the most storied brands in racing history: Porsche.  For licensing and rights reasons, Porsche does not appear anywhere in the SONY Polyphony Digital Gran Turismo game series.  As such, they were not one …

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Launch Party – 2017 Mercedes-AMG Project ONE [51 Photos]

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We shouyld have taken Mercedes more seriously when they said their new hypercar concept would be an F1 car for the road.  The cliche is so tired as to barely raise an eyebrow in 2017. But here we are: with a screaming 1.6-liter V6 turbocharged beyond all sense to deliver its 1000 ponies.  And electrified with a bombastic KERS hybrid system. The looks are right off a racetrack and promise a car vastly less practical than any 911, but much more than most racecars.  A deep, McLaren-style door opening brings the entire lower sill up and away from  the bodywork …

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Meet the Original 1964 Ford GT40 Concept and 1965 GT40 Roadster Prototype 11

Concept Flashback – 1965 GT40 Roadster Prototype

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The GT40 was actually a pretty derivative design – with a chassis and overall structure partially borrowed from Lola. But the GT40 as it came from Lola was not a winner right away. While the Mark I GT40 is a bit more pure, and a lot more beautiful by many eyes — it was not a race-winner. The GT40 started winning races with the Mark II GT40 with its huge air scoops, front sill spats, and other aero mutations to the overall design. But still – it is hard to argue with the clean beauty of these initial concept prototypes. …

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1957 Arnott-Climax 1100 GT 3

1957 Arnott-Climax 1100 GT – Gooding & Co. Pebble Beach 2017 Preview

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  Have you ever laid eyes on a more beautiful teardrop racer? Competing with the likes of the Porsche 356 and other micro-lights was a tough game in the late 1950s.   Competitiveness in this era meant this Coventry Climax ran just a shouting 96-horsepower four, with all its weight mid-center ahead of the driver.  This played out on track nicely versus the rear-engined Porsches of the era.  Totally different but both very pure track setups. Granted, this little bugger might have had its gullwing doors blown off by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racer of the same era, whose big …

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1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 4

This Exact 1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 Won Lemans

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Just parked up on the lawn in front of the Mercedes stand!  Read into the details of W194 number 7 and you quickly learn this exact car won LeMans. Impressive!   Of course, this tanker aero design hides a Super Light alloy spaceframe with giant structural sills.  Escape was via the future-icon gullwing doors. This car went on to race at the Nurburgring and as a timer in the Carrera Panamericana.   1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 Number 7

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1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi – RM Monterey 2016 Highlight

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One of the first-ever midengine Ferrari racers went across the block in Cali this August. Looks like it was a no-sale, curiously. A high bar was surely set: we’d estimating the reserve was around $25-million.  Perhaps 35. So it is still seeking a new home.  Home for its freaky beauty, snarky nose intakes and special-prototype LMP1 provenance. Sold or not, we’re elated to see this 1962 268SP in the sunlight in all its glory. RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2016 Lot 240 1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi Chassis no. 0798 Engine no. 0798 Gearbox no. 6 Estimate Available Upon Request Please note that Internet …

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2014 Superformance LOLA MkII Can-Am Spyder at Olthoff Racing12

Dream Garage – Superformance LOLA MkIII Can-Am Spyders

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Lola racecars are extremely special for their value-for-money today, racing pedigree, and also their incredibly timeless grace and beauty. This was a racing team directly formed in the late 1950s with one goal: build a car from scratch to win LeMans. The resulting semi-monocoque chassis design – now known as a unibody – was revolutionary at the time of frame-based racers from nearly every other racing company and nearly every single road car. A semi-monocoque? Oh yes. The other part is also pretty advanced for the time: a steel spaceframe for the engine and rear suspension cradle. In fact, the …

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2015 Bentley GT3 Soaks Up Fearless/Fearsome B-Boy Spirit with 1930 Birkin Blower LeMans Icon

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Trading paint on a racetrack has always been precarious for all involved. But for open-wheeled racecars like today’s F1 or Indy cars, any contact is almost instantly catastrophic. First you lose grip, then if the car goes sideways or airborn even a tiny bit, you lose all downforce. The results of a track clash were even more stark in the early days of Le Mans racing.  Racing back in the day was 1000X more dangerous than today — so just imagine the balls it would take to pass a race-leading Mercedes-Benz on the side grass of the Mulsanne straight! That …

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2015 Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is Ready to Race

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The thrill of leading a race is a core Bugatti trait. Along with stratospheric pricing for any Bugatti new or old, the firm has always built itself on being the fastest. The best. The ultimate in automotive engineering, design and haute couture is about to have a new rival. An in-house rival for the Veyron glory, world records and completed production run. All 450 Veyrons have been configured, customized, personalized and delivered to owners around the world, however. So what is next? This concept Vision Gran Turismo debut today in Frankfurt shows the core speed fundamentals underneath the showcar. This …

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2015 Bugatti Vision GT in 60 Stunning Images – RWD Atmospheric W16 for LeMans 2016?

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The thrill of leading a race is a core Bugatti trait. Along with stratospheric pricing for any Bugatti new or old, the firm has always built itself on being the fastest. The best. The ultimate in automotive engineering, design and haute couture is about to have a new rival. An in-house rival for the Veyron glory, world records and completed production run. All 450 Veyrons have been configured, customized, personalized and delivered to owners around the world, however. So what is next? This concept Vision Gran Turismo debut today in Frankfurt shows the core speed fundamentals underneath the showcar. This …

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2015 ALPINE Celebration Concept 18

2015 ALPINE Celebration Concept – Mid-Engine 2016 TT-Fighter in HD LeMans Lap

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Surprise reveal for the next chapter in Alpine sportscars! This 2015 ALPINE Celebration Concept is a mid-engine prototype that represents the first look at the brand’s move to a stand-alone marque in the RenaultSport fleet. Initiated as a collaboration with Caterham a few years ago, the plan was to acquire a low-cost and proven sports-car chassis from the English. Custom bodywork and RenaultSport engines would provide authentic French zing for the machine – which would become a halo sportscar for the entire Renault/Dacia lineup — worldwide. HD Le Mans Lap Renault ran into major troubles synchronizing its big-company safety, reliability …

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LeMans Legends from Porsche – Sweet 16 Becomes Magnificent 17 With New 919 Win

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        Porsche just swept LeMans, crowning its 17th racecar with the most-coveted trophy on the auto racing circuit. What cars came before? Porsche has competed and succeeded at Le Mans since the early 1950s, but only entered the highest echelons of competition in the mid-1960s. Shut out of victory by the Ford GT40 Mark II’s winning streak from 1966-1969, Porsche did the impossible with its massive 1970 victory. Let’s take a walk back through Porsche LeMans Winners, starting from the most recent in 1998. But first, the all-star group and the people behind these wins. Porsche LeMans …

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Porsche LeMans 2015 Victory 9

LeMans 2015 Video: Porsche 919 Hybrid Takes One-Two Victory!

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  Ladies and gentleman, the day has come! Porsche reclaimed overall LeMans victory 45 years since its first in 1970 and last in 1998. The 919 Hybrid was so fast it passed even LMP2 cars (and more than a few LMP1 cars) like they were standing still on the track. A stunning feat of brilliant engineering, driving and motorsports — together pushing the 919 to a decisive victory in first and second place.   2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid   One-two for the Porsche 919 Hybrids in Le Mans Stuttgart. Mission accomplished: Porsche has achieved its 17th overall Le Mans victory …

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LeMans 2015 Spotters Guide to All Racecars c/o Nissan GT-R LM Nismo – Truly Innovative Excitement?

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Innovation That Excites. Sound familiar? Of course it does. This Nissan tagline raises half an eyebrow when attached to cars like the Altima or Versa. Arguably neither innovative nor exciting, it is almost like calling Taco Bell haute cuisine. It just is not in any way. Categorical denial of tagline principles! But the new 2015 LMP1 car from Nissan is actually hugely innovative and hugely exciting. It is the newest entrant in the top class to compete with the Ultra-boring Audi Sport R19s, Porsche 919 and somewhat dull Toyota Gazoo TS040. The GT-R LM NISMO is also a total wildcard …

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World Endurance Championship

LeMans 2015 – Toyota TS040 Hybrid Gets New Nose, More Power and New Suspension Setup

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  What the TS040 lacks in outright drama, it clearly makes up for with outstanding engineering and bulletproof reliability. Le Mans 2014 was one of the three World Endurance Championship races that the TS040 Hybrid did not win — but the team cleaned up by going 5 in 8 overall during the 2014 season. This dominance was enough to score Toyota the World Championship titles for the car as well as its drivers — which is certainly an impressive feat. The newly-renamed Toyota Gazoo Racing team wants to keep the winning glory in this 2015 season with the ultimate crowning …

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Nissan GT-R LM NISMO Testing in Sebring

LeMans 2015 – Nissan GT-R LM NISMO Stuns On Track With Vacuum Aero!

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Update: Observers of the GTR-LM at NCM Motorsports Park in Kentucky have confirmed the sound of high-power electric vans at speed around the track — answering a fundamental question posed below. __ Well, I’ll be damned! The shocking design and tech solutions of the all-new Nissan LMP1 car continue to mystify in the runup to LeMans 2015. The tech specs are out and included here, along with a fascinating video revealing one of the GT-R LM NISMO’s big secret weapons: vacuum aero. Nissan shows these full-length channels in the design in the below video, describing how the full-length piping helps …

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2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid Adds Black and Red LeMans Liveries in 917K Salute

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Porsche is extremely eager to show how fast and reliable its 2015 919 Hybrid is in the marquee endurance race of the year: LeMans. Just 18 days from now, a trio of Porsche 919s will battle a mad pack of Audi R19 racecars, the secretive 2015 Toyota LMP1 update, and an all-new contender: the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo. This front-drive Nissan is a real wildcard in the tech blueprint adopted by the other big three: rear-mid-engine with electric front-axle AWD. The Porsche 919 Hybrid looks extremely similar to last year’s car, but features dramatic updates under the skin. The core …

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1969 Alfa Romeo T33 Sports Racer 28

Racing Icons Series – 1969 Alfa Romeo T33 Sports Racer

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Part Four of Six – Alfa Romeo Racing Icons Series Proof that beauty and open-air thrills are critical elements of a million-dollar sale? Yes indeed! Even with pure-bred racecars like this Sports Racer Tipo 33 from Alfa Romeo, the most important details are often obvious to classic-car shoppers and spectators alike. Even though this Sports Racer was not one of the quickest T33 Alfa’s on the world’s racetracks, it is clearly the most desirable today versus its younger siblings — and arguably more visually sublime than its fabulous hard-top older brothers. The reason for this is clear: there is still …

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2015 Toroidion 1MW Concept 1

Toroidion Reveals 1340HP, Quad-Motor EV Hypercar Prototype in Monaco

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The holy grail for EV hypercars is more motors. Just look at the huge leap in performance with the new Tesla P85D AWD model — boasting nearly 700-horsepower and able to blast to 60-mph quicker than ever before. But with more motors comes more complexity — particularly when it comes to the power delivery in anything but a straight line. The system needs to be a virtual supercomputer to handle fairly typical torque-vectoring needs. Toroidion is a startup supercar company from Finland that hopes its LeMans racing technology can create one of the quickest hypercars of all time. Designed with …

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LeMans Homologation Specials - 1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR SuperSport 30

LeMans Homologation Specials – 1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR SuperSport

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The CLK GTR has an altogether less impressive record than the McLaren F1 GTR and Porsche 911 GT1 it was designed to beat. The CLK GTR was the most eagerly-sought road model, however, with 300 buyers trying to own one of the 25 road cars to be produced by AMG and the re-established M-B factory racing team. Re-established? Mercedes took the ultimate in gentlemen’s intermissions from LeMans after the tragic accident of 1955 killed dozens of spectators. A car out of control and taking flight before a huge crash was too similar to the 1930s Silver Arrows accidents, wherein famous …

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Amelia Island 2015 - 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 16

Amelia Island 2015 – 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6

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The journey for Porsche to LeMans glory starting in 1970 is almost a textbook case of incremental evolution. A new trait here works, so it sticks. A few things lost in the name of ultimate high-speed glory. Seeing the 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 beside a close descendent, the 1968 908K, makes clear how carefully Porsche was refining its alloy spaceframe racecar during the 1960s. They really knew they were on to something with the ultra-low boxer engine masses, mounted right behind the driver for optimal handling. The 2.0-liter six of this racecar shares much of its fundamental design with …

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1968 Porsche 908K Short-Tail Coupe 9

Amelia Island 2015 – 1968 Porsche 908K Short-Tail Coupe Is One of Two Survivors

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This Le Mans racer from Porsche is part of a 200-mph dream: Fast cars, evolving in hyperspeed. The 908 was an adapted version of the 907 – but altered to fit an all-new 3.0-liter boxer eight-cylinder engine. We believe this is chassis 908-019 (or perhaps 908-011) – which is thought to be one of two surviving short-tail 908 Coupes outside the Porsche Museum. The 908K stands for short-tail, which was ideal for tighter tracks versus the long-tail for the Le Sarthe LeMans track itself. This machine was a transition phase for the Porsche race crew. A rule change for 1969’s …

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Panoz DeltaWing 9

Amelia Island 2015 – Panoz DeltaWing LeMans Racer + Esperante GT

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Panoz was well-placed at the Amelia Island 2015 Concours, with their first-gen DeltaWing racecar and the production Esperante GT. One is an incredible leap into the future of aerodynamics, speed and endurance racing brilliance. The other… a hopeless anachronism based on a 1995 Ford Mustang GT. Sorry for the harsh words on the Esperante. The contrast of this thing with the Garage56 racecar from LeMans and the ALMS series just feels like a car from a different planet than a 20-year-old reskin of a 20-year-old Mustang. Panoz DeltaWing Panoz Esperante GT

Nissan GT-R LM NISMO

2015 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 Racer Makes Public Debut in Chicago – 40 New Photos!

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 The hot and heavy three-way battle among Porsche, Audi and Toyota in the LeMans Prototype One race class just got a lot steamier. Nissan just pulled back the silk sheets on its contender to World Endurance Championship racing: the 2015 Nissan GT-R LM NISMO. And boy does it go its own way to achieving massive speed and impact, while sticking to the very expansive fuel usage rules of LeMans racing. The biggest shocker is not that it is a hybrid twin-turbo-charged V6 making 1250-horsepower. It shocks with where that engine sits, and where it delivers its power. The engine lives …

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Ege Argüden 2035 Aston Martin AMR-AP LeMans Racer 12

Design Talent Showcase – Ege Arguden 2035 Aston Martin AMR-AP LeMans Racer

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This design study by emerging automotive design all-star Ege Arguden is a fascinating look into the future of endurance racing. With ‘air power’ that compresses oxygen and converts it to wheel thrust, this future-tech racecar has many interesting facets to study even today. Versus contemporary Aston Martin racing prototypes, the AMR-AP by Arguden is a massive leap into the future. Even so, the 2035 AMR-AP design sticks with the things we know already work so well on the track: ultra-low nose, shrouded fenders, massive length and long-tail spoiler with numerous stabilizer elements. The Arguden AMR-AP prototype is most special to …

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2015 Nissan GT-R LM NISMO 8a

LMP1 3-Way Becomes Fourgy! 2015 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo Revealed With 1250HP, Front-Drive V6TT?!

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 The hot and heavy three-way battle among Porsche, Audi and Toyota in the LeMans Prototype One race class just got a lot steamier. Nissan just pulled back the silk sheets on its contender to World Endurance Championship racing: the 2015 Nissan GT-R LM NISMO. And boy does it go its own way to achieving massive speed and impact, while sticking to the very expansive fuel usage rules of LeMans racing. The biggest shocker is not that it is a hybrid twin-turbo-charged V6 making 1250-horsepower. It shocks with where that engine sits, and where it delivers its power. The engine lives …

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1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2

RM Paris 2015 – 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS Touring – Seeks $700k

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The Porsche 911 RS was one of Porsche’s first tries at a truly high-performance 911. They, like most people, were dubious about the super-sports potential of the 911’s rear-engine design. But after re-balancing the company following huge winning streaks at LeMans and the CanAm racing series, Porsche was back to Earth in the early 1970s. The 2.7-liter flat-six was a huge jump in displacement from the original 2.0-liter design — and the 210-horsepower it made was enough to excite even the bravest drivers. This was, after all, a bare-bones and tiny sports-car. To go along with the huge power jump …

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Racing Icons – 1991 Mazda 787B LMP1 Winner + Rotary Engine Timeline

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  Wondered where the ‘LM55’ name of the new Mazda Vision Gran Turismo came from? That was the racing number of the LeMans-winning Mazda 787B from the 1991 LeMans. The only Asian brand to ever win overall via the LMP1 class, this is a story of a racing achievement that still irks powerhouse Toyota, Nissan and Honda to this very day. The 787B is also perhaps the ultimate evolution of the rotary engine — since its evolution beginning in 1588 as chronocles below. Reaching such heights as winning LeMans was an epic moment for rotary power, and conincided with the …

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What To Watch: NISMO GT Academy Is High-Quality, Big-Budget Reality Competition!

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Updated 11.10.14 The new season of GT Academy is online and watchable via the below YouTube embed! To celebrate, we’ve paired the episode with some of the coolest NISMO cars from SEMA 2014. Mostly, relaxing for me is commercial-free online television of some kind. Just stumbled upon the latest for GT Academy, and feel compelled to share this exciting series. Imagine a mix of a few shows like Toughest Soldier Challenge, TopGear, … and … America’s Next Top Model…. and you will get an idea of what GT Academy offers viewers. Instead of shooting or pouting, these guys train to …

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R8 tdi

Concept Flashback – 2009 Audi R8 TDI V12 Shows Great Engineering Potential, But Limited Market

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Audi seems to have no trouble winning LeMans with its ultra-sophisticated R18 models in the last decade — but has struggled mightily trying to translate racing tech to the road. Even today, there is no clear link between Audi racing glory and the cars sold by Audi dealerships. Sure, there is anecdotal evidence hat motorsport success has fueled Audi’s continued sales rise — but it is a tenuous link. Upon the arrival of Audis’ first supercar, the R8, this finally looked set to change. At last — a way to show how LeMans racing improves the breed in general! The …

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Concept Flashback – 2008 Mazda Furai is 450HP, Rotary LMP2 Car That Met Two Tragic Ends

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What were the two tragic ends that met the Furai concept? One: Laurens van den Acker leaves Mazda to take the top design job at Renault, where he delivered the Clio 4 and cars like the Twizy — and has imprinted his influence on ever product since 2010. The tragedy for Mazda’s NAGARE design philosophy is that it was hard to continue van den Acker’s ‘Flow’ themes without the true creator’s presence. So, despite being globally celebrated after its launch in late December 2007, the Furai was fairly doomed from the start. Designed first, and engineered second — the fantastic …

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Update1 – 2016 McLaren P1 GTR – Pebble Beach World Debut in 75 High-Res Photos

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Updated 9.5.14   These are the P1 GTR on the concept lawn as well as the official studio photography from McLaren. In person, it is all about that rear end! The huge sewer-drain exhaust pipes are stunning, as is the rear wing emerging up and rear-ward with twin functional vertical planes and a huge high-speed spoiler a foot above and behind the P1’s original tail. The deconstructed look of the rear end makes people think there are no taillights — but we know the truth! 2016 McLaren P1 GTR Pebble Beach 2016 McLaren P1 GTR   McLaren F1 LM GTR …

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Hero Racecars – 1997 PORSCHE 911 GT1 Marlboro LeMans at The Quail

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For fans of anything remotely modern, The Quail Motorsports Gathering is far more enticing than the actual Pebble Beach Concours. Both are filled with wondrous cars that one cannot believe actually exist in the flesh. Cars like this 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 in Le Mans racing specification. So rare is this machine that a google search of its name comes up with far more Tamiya 1:24-scale models than it does actual racecars… This powertrain and design became the GT1 Evo mid-year in 1997, adopting the fried-egg headlamp style of the 996 Porsche 911s. The 911 GT1 is fantastic to experience …

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2015 McLaren P1 GTR – Pebble Beach World Debut in 55 High-Res Photos

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2015 McLaren P1 GTR McLaren F1 LM GTR McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE TO BESTOW ICONIC BADGE ON ULTIMATE TRACK-FOCUSED McLAREN P1™ GTR Twenty years on from victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the now legendary McLaren F1 GTR, McLaren Automotive will resurrect the iconic name from its history for the track-only edition of the award-winning McLaren P1™. The limited-run model will go into production when the 375th and final example of the road car has been completed, and in homage to its race-winning ancestor, the most powerful McLaren to date will be named the McLaren P1™ GTR. With no …

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Update1 – The Porsche Story in 99 Rare Photos – A Legacy of Victory

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Porsche is ambitious to a fault. It is a core brand trait to excel in almost every single way – To the point where many thought a win at LeMans this year was almost an inevitability. Preparation, research, expertise and brilliance…. Equals: Porsche Racing. So when the 919 suffered out on the track, it was partial global surprise and partial relief. I mean, if Porsche could come in and snatch the title from Audi after 12 near-consecutive wins for Audi Motorsport — what does that really “say” about Audi? Nothing too flattering. So a bit of a relief, a bit …

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RM Auctions 2014 Monaco Highlights – 1964 Alpine M64 Is Gorgeous and Historically Significant Racing Hero

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As we watch the rebirth of Renault-Alpine and the Alpine sportscar legacy over the next few years, it is great to trace the roots of the firm and appreciate some of its greatest-hits. The A110 Berlinette was by far the most iconic machine produced for sale by Alpine, but was it the quickest around a track or the most gorgeous? Despite how cute that A110 looked in Amelia Island earlier this year above… http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/03/10/amelia-parking-lot-finds-1960s-renault-alpine-a110-cali-plates-passenger-seat-full-suitcases/ No sir – those awards go to the long-body M64 racercar version shown here. One of only three ever made, the M64 Alpine won its class …

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Meet the Original 1964 Ford GT40 Concept and 1965 GT40 Roadster GIF1

Meet the Original 1964 Ford GT40 Concept and 1965 GT40 Roadster Prototype

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The GT40 was actually a pretty derivative design – with a chassis and overall structure partially borrowed from Lola. But the GT40 as it came from Lola was not a winner right away. While the Mark I GT40 is a bit more pure, and a lot more beautiful by many eyes — it was not a race-winner. The GT40 started winning races with the Mark II GT40 with its huge air scoops, front sill spats, and other aero mutations to the overall design. But still – it is hard to argue with the clean beauty of these initial concept prototypes. …

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The Porsche Story in 37 Rare Photos – A Winners Racing Legacy

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Porsche is ambitious to a fault. It is a core brand trait to excel in almost every single way – To the point where many thought a win at LeMans this year was almost an inevitability. Preparation, research, expertise and brilliance…. Equals: Porsche Racing. So when the 919 suffered out on the track, it was partial global surprise and partial relief. I mean, if Porsche could come in and snatch the title from Audi after 12 near-consecutive wins for Audi Motorsport — what does that really “say” about Audi? Nothing too flattering. So a bit of a relief, a bit …

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Update1 – 2014 Nissan ZEOD RC LeMans In Detail + 80 Photos

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Ask and ye shall receive? Only last week, we lamented the lack of angles of the ZEOD RC versus the flawless 29 angles of the car’s potent 1.5-liter, 400HP turbo triple, which both propels the car and charges the batteries (we think.) 2014 Nissan ZEOD RC LeMans Well, the strip-tease continues for the ZEOD RC. The latest batch of info from Nissan’s UK-based Le Mans operation shows the real-life racer in much more detail. (Just kidding — looks like we just did not look hard enough for images. This release is tagged October 21st, 2013.) Nissan’s hybrid-electric Garage56 experimental entry …

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2015 McLaren P1 GTR Renderings

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2015 McLaren P1 GTR Renderings McLaren today confirmed that the P1 hypercar will go into extra innings once its 375-unit production run is completed in early 2015. The next chapter will take McLaren back to the world’s GT racetracks, including Le Mans – where the very impressive F1 GTR won its class. McLaren only released a few teasers, so it was up to us to fill in the gaps.               Here is an exclusive rendering of how the 2015 McLaren P1 may look, with the changes detailed below. WHEELS/TIRES These are directly from the …

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RM Monaco 2014 Highlights – 1969 DeTomaso Mangusta Brings $367k of Supercar Hedonism

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Oh, this is a great total to see. Overall, DeTomaso machines typically do not deliver the value they should when you consider their beauty and hand-made Italian designs. The shortcut of using an American engine has never been kind to the values of classics, with even the Face Vega’s of Paris and many others really not delivering the stratospheric sales prices of Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s of the same provenance and era. This Mangusta is quite a sinfully delicious design, with a brutality to its nose that was and is a nice counterpoint to the streamlined Daytona Ferrari, pin-sharp Maserati Ghibli …

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Nissan BladeGlider Concept Is DeltaWing MX-5

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Nissan today revealed an exciting new prototype sports car that blends the best thinking in racing ev tech, track-day lightness, and Z-car purity. As a pinched nose design, the BladeGlider is most similar, in negineering terms, to the Nissan-backed 2012 DeltaWing experimental LeMans entry. Sharing key rear-axle torque vectoring should allow the BladeGlider to have the precision and incredible pace of the DelaWing — but the affordable pricing and market potential of a Mazda MX-5 competitor. Interesting. Confusing. Exciting.  

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2014 Audi R8 LMX to Bring World-First Standard Laser Highbeams Via Shared Tech with R18 LeMans

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  Yes, the BMW i8 offers them – but only as a high-priced option. As such, the Audi R8 LMX is set to be the first car to ever include laser highbeams as standard when it arrives this summertime. The highbeam solution is a work-around to make sure that the lighting is still palatable to all world markets – including the United States, we predict. The below information is based on the UK-market R8, but this special edition is almost a sure thing on US roads as well. A redesigned R8 is tipped for Frankfurt – going on sale about …

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Car-Revs-Daily

2014 Radical RXC Lands in America! Track Shakedown with WISKO Racing + Mega Gallery Inside/Out

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WISKO racing is based in Virginia and is an official Radical distributor in the United States — which is a bit of a relief for me as a car writer. Why? As you may note in the below photos, there is a “For Sale” placard in the windshield, which would be worrying for such a new car in any other circumstances…! But not for this amazing machine, which delivers such LeMans levels of down-force that it becomes nearly unflappable in any track scenario. All the better to put down some race-ready laptimes..! The RXC is priced from just under 100,000 …

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Speculative Renderings – 2014 Superformance GT40 Can-Am Spyder or Street-Able Convertible

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So, if the Ford GT40 and the LOLA T70 Mk II Spyder share so much under the skin, and if the Lola is already available from Superformance — why bother with a meld of both these ideas?   Three reasons: – The Lola cars have a far smaller following among the world’s enthusiasts, and therefore are a very niche machine – If Ford had continued racing the GT40 concept after its four LeMans victories from 1966 to 1969, it is likely that the car would have adopted this style to match FIA’s rule changes. Can-Am was much closer to home …

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2014 Superformance LOLA Mk III and MkII Can-Am Spyder at Olthoff Racing – Chevy-Friendly Racing Speedster?

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Lola racecars are extremely special for their value-for-money today, racing pedigree, and also their incredibly timeless grace and beauty. This was a racing team directly formed in the late 1950s with one goal: build a car from scratch to win LeMans. The resulting semi-monocoque chassis design – now known as a unibody – was revolutionary at the time of frame-based racers from nearly every other racing company and nearly every single road car. A semi-monocoque? Oh yes. The other part is also pretty advanced for the time: a steel spaceframe for the engine and rear suspension cradle. In fact, the …

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VIDEO: Olthoff Racing Factory – Superformance GT40 Mark II – Specs, History + High-Res Photo Comparison Vs. GT40 Mark I

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Is there beauty in functionality? That is the question to ask when debating a GT40 Mark I versus its successor, the GT40 Mark II. Is authenticity of the actual 1-2-3 1966 7.0-liter Mark II race win better than the clean lines and simple aesthetic of the Mark I — which was actually a trouble-prone testing bed for the losing 1964 and 1965 seasons? The 24 Hours of LeMans is widely known as the most grueling durability and endurance test ever fathomed, let alone run annually with a field of more than sixty cars across four racing categories: LMP1, LMP2, GT2 …

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W Motors LYKAN HyperSport Makes Production Debut in Monaco This Week – Racecar In Pipeline?

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      Since winning 2013’s Best New Exotic car award here on Car-Revs-Daily.com,  the W Motors team has been anything but idle. The Lykan HyperSport’s whirlwind tour continues this spring with its European debut in Monaco April 17th through the 20th. Despite not exactly being street-legal in Europe and the United States yet — that is not likely to be a problem for this hypercar’s ~ten total owners. Not street legal there? Here is how the buyer conversations might go… “Let’s have the Lykan as our Paul Ricard HTTT track car, or maybe we should just order it shipped …

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Concept Flashback -- 1969 Alfa-Romeo Tipo 332 Coupe Speciale -- Gullwing Mid-Engine Supercar That Never Was 12

Concept Debrief – 1969 Alfa-Romeo Tipo 332 Coupe Speciale – Gullwing Canary in Supercar Coal Mine

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This Alfa is Canary Yellow. It was also a dying canary in the coal-mine of Italian supercar fates of the next decade. When a canary dies in his cage deep undergound, miners knew the toxicity of the air was going from bad to worse. In mid-1960s Italy, the momentum to start one’s own hypercar legacy was a powerful draw. By 1969, all in the small sports-car business at the time marvelled at Feruccio Lamborghini’s success in carving sales away from Ferrari. Ferrari had quashed nearly all attempts by Maserati and Alfa-Romeo at reclaiming their past glory, and non-Ferrari people were …

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In-House Racing Expert Chris May Asks — Are Established Tracks Safe For Today’s Race Pace?

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By: Special Contributor Chris May Established Race Tracks:  Are they Safe Anymore? It’s a loaded question that I have been wrestling with over the past couple of weeks.  So you might ask, ‘Why is this on your mind, bit of a random thought?’ Well, the genesis of the thought process started last year when the racing community lost Allan Simonsen tragically at Le Mans.         I, just like many other racing fans, was glued to the TV as we watched the historical event unfold and the tragic cloud that fell upon the race with 23 hours left …

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Porsche Brand Showcase — 1000-Photo Gallery of 918 Spyder, 919, Macan, Panamera, 911, 718, Boxster and Cayman

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Ever wanted just a huge lump of images? Well, your wish is my command! Something is wrong with the lightbox function, so please simple control+click to open these gallery photos to full-size in a new window.   918 Spyder 919 LeMans Macan Panamera 911 Cayman/Boxster 907 718 RSK      

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2014 LeMans LMP1 – Toyota TS040 Hybrid – A Dark Horse in Audi vs. Porsche Battle

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The TS040 Hybrid is looking mighty rapid this year, with a huge increase in stamina and budget for the Toyota Motorsports Group based in Cologne, Germany. Training with past winners and local talent can only be considered a huge new asset in the Toyota WEC racing ambition for its LMP1 cars. TS040 Hybrid running from ToyotaGB on Vimeo. So, is the TS040 fast and powerful enough to outwit the Porsche 919 Hybrid and Audi R18 trio? Fast enough remains to be seen, but the Toyota effort in LMP1 has garnered five race victories since 2012, which is certainly nothing to …

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My Ford #INAMUSTANG Contest Entry — GT350R Goes Flat-Out Around LeMans, Fuji and Monaco

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This is a draft for what we hope will be a very memorable entry into the #INAMUSTANG challenge — where-in the best ideas will be made into short films. For me, the prize might even be a media invite to some upcoming Mustang events. April 17th is the big anniversary of the original launch at the 1964 New York Auto Show, so things are likely pretty near on the horizon. Ideally, these ideas would utilize a 2015 Mustang as the basis instead of the NeedForSpeed car shown here. The inspiration, of course, is Charlie Webb’s $984,000 1965 Mustang GT350R. Even …

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2014 Nissan ZEOD RC LeMans Mt. Fuji Track Demo

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2014 Nissan ZEOD RC LeMans Ask and ye shall receive? Only last week, we lamented the lack of angles of the ZEOD RC versus the flawless 29 angles of the car’s potent 1.5-liter, 400HP turbo triple, which both propels the car and charges the batteries (we think.) Well, the strip-tease continues for the ZEOD RC. The latest batch of info from Nissan’s UK-based Le Mans operation shows the real-life racer in much more detail. (Just kidding — looks like we just did not look hard enough for images. This release is tagged October 21st, 2013.) Nissan’s hybrid-electric Garage56 experimental entry …

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2014 LeMans Engine Showcase Series — Nissan ZEOD RC a hybrid… with a 400HP 1.5-liter Turbo Triple!

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It is no coincidence that the Nissan ZEOD RC’s engine is a 1.5-liter turbo triple. This is for at least three reasons:   — The 1.5-liter Turbo V6 is Formula One’s new engine size — Halve that engine at the crankshaft, and you have this tall drink of 88-pound engine, making 400 horsepower to supplement the electrics on-board the ZEOD RC. Nissan Motorsport’s guys explain it a bit better here.  The exciting thing about the LeMans experimental Garage56 program is that there… are almost no constricting rules. In theory, the Porsche 911 GTR R Hybrid from a few years ago …

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The Bruce McLaren Origin Story: How A Brilliant Visionary Still Inspires the Auto World

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Orig Published on: Dec 30, 2013 @ 10:50 Really understanding McLaren today requires more information on the firm’s dynamic founding individual: Bruce. A face to go with the myth is helpful, but just a face is no justice to the legacy of Bruce McLaren. Bruce McLaren’s influence continues today, with those who knew him able to recall this man as all things to all men: engineer, a racing driver, a great friend and teacher, businessman, and, ultimately, hero. From his arrival in Europe in 1958: The Auckland-born Bruce McLaren’s skilled feet, eyes and arms took the racing world by storm. …

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How Would 2012 Corvette Daytona Longtail Fare in Vmax Challenge with LMP1 Cars?

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The 2012 Corvette Daytona is part of my Chevy Racing learning process, and it is a bit confusing with numerous Corvette-branded racecars in very different series. For example, the previous Grand Am sports car classes are almost a dead ringer for the Porsche 962 era of Le Mans. Grand Am merged with the American Le Mans Series, and the classes for sportscars will be covered in a future article. For now – a bit of blue-sky thinking to go with the 2012 Corvette Daytona’s namesake track. What if all the fastest racecars in the world… got together on a huge, …

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Audi LeMans R18: Laser Light = Smoke and Mirrors? 2014 e-tron quattro Actually Hiding Big Changes in Back

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Guess who really likes winning Le Mans? Everyone! Every single person who has ever competed there cherishes a single win with the passion of an Oscar winner. But guess who has really, really developed a taste for winning Le Mans, after more than a decade as the front-runner? The serious gentlemen over at Audi Motorsport. Is this an odd introduction for an article about new laser lighting shown at CES this week? The new “laser” lighting joins a long list of other Audi names for its headlights, including Matrix and Swarm. AUTO LIGHTING TECH – 2014 and Beyond But why …

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Racing Evolution 1968-1970 – Alfa Romeo T33 Mugello, T33/2 LeMans + T33/4 Tasman

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This is part two of the Alfa Romeo endurance racer showcase. These long-tail machinesdirectly evolved from the original Tipo 33 Periscopo and Stradale prototypes – but made huge changes. Far less glass lowers the center of mass, while aerodynamic ground effects became a critical part of racing. This put an end to the smooth flowing surfaces of the curvy 1967 T33 Stradale and its siblings. The Tipo 33 series diverged in 1969 in anticipation of rule changes in the 1970s that would prefer an open cockpit layout. Yes, for trivia buffs, Le Mans has alternated between open and closed cars …

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Hero Racecars – 1967-1969 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale

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Okay, the Tipo 33 Stradale is not quite a street-legal supercar: this is a racing prototype that competed in some of the fiercest LeMans racing battles ever seen. Among its six-plus variants in body style, length, and mechanical package: the Tipo 33 was considered to be among the top three contenders for the late-60’s golden age of endurance racing. Ultimately: the Tipo 33 proved slower than Ford and Porsche, but ahead of McLaren, Ferrari, and the numerous other LMP1 teams. Was the Tipo 33 not a race-winner? Does being spanked by Ford every year it competed mean it is a …

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Group B Forever! Peugeot 208 T16 and 205 T16 in 108 Photos

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What a premise for a world-beating rally car: your LeMans-winning prototypes are gathering dust, while the motorsport engineers see all their hard work tossed aside. Powertrain? An Audi-beating, red-glowing turbocharger, and all the right stuff to put the power down. Wheelbase? Chopped nearly in half versus the endurance HDI FAP cars. Enjoy this showcase of the Pikes Peak-conquerer: The Peugeot T16, then and now.   2013 208 T16 – Prototype Spec 2013 208 T16 – Pikes Peak 2013 208 T16 – GT 1985 205 T16 Images credits for 1985 205 T16 c/o AllRacingCars.com Awesome site, with a great collection of …

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Tempted? Superformance 1966 Ford GT40's Are Virtually Flawless

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These two devils play a wicked trick on the brain at first sight. Their unique blend of original and modern Ford GT cues really sets them apart on the roads – even when that giant V8 is not howling away. Priced from $150,000 each, these are recreations of Ford GT40 LeMans-winners. But these cars have a few aces up their sleeve to make up for their lack of pure vintage credibility: speed, presence, and ease of use. They are also easier to drive on the street, with updated emissions and other helpful concessions to road use. The sense of occasion …

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When In Doubt: Porsche. LMP1 Glory Past, Present and Future

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Porsche will fly twin missions under the Volkswagen Group. But only four letters really matter: LMP1 As the production cars division spreads the 911 ethos across a wide variety of new body styles over the next decade, vehicles with a Porsche badge will come in all sorts of new shapes and prices. Along with this proliferation of bad-ass sports cars? Winning the world’s toughest and most-respected race of any kind. Swimming laps? No. Running laps? No. No Olympic athletes are asked to perform for 24 hours in a row. The reason? Ostensibly, it cannot be done. Many have said the …

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What To Watch: NISMO GT Academy Is High-Quality, Big-Budget Reality Competition!

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Updated 11.10.14 The new season of GT Academy is online and watchable via the below YouTube embed! To celebrate, we’ve paired the episode with some of the coolest NISMO cars from SEMA 2014. Mostly, relaxing for me is commercial-free online television of some kind. Just stumbled upon the latest for GT Academy, and feel compelled to share this exciting series. Imagine a mix of a few shows like Toughest Soldier Challenge, TopGear, … and … America’s Next Top Model…. and you will get an idea of what GT Academy offers viewers. Instead of shooting or pouting, these guys train to …

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WOW! Nissan BladeGlider Concept Is Stunning – But Confusing

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WOW! Nissan BladeGlider Concept Is Stunning – But Confusing Nissan today revealed an exciting new prototype sports car that blends the best thinking in racing EV tech, track-day lightness, and Z-car purity. As a pinched nose design, the BladeGlider is most similar, in negineering terms, to the Nissan-backed 2012 DeltaWing experimental LeMans entry. Sharing key rear-axle torque vectoring should allow the BladeGlider to have the precision and incredible pace of the DelaWing — but the affordable pricing and market potential of a Mazda MX-5 competitor. Interesting. Confusing. Exciting.