McLaren Senna LM is rolling homage to iconic F1 LM, only five will be built

It’s not often that a supercar comes along that completely flips the script of what a proper performance icon should be. But that was indeed the case when the McLaren F1 did when it made its appearance in the 1990s. Not only did it disrupt a kingdom that was ruled by Ferrari and Lamborghini, but it also helped create a new generation of automotive enthusiasts who eagerly posted a picture of an F1 on their bedroom walls and dreamed (this author included.) The F1 also spawned a fire breathing LM variant in 1995 which paid homage to the race car …

Keep reading

Could This Be The Long Rumored McLaren Senna LM? New Evidence Emerges Via Social Media

McLaren is typically very predictable when it comes to the way it unveils its Ulitmate series of supercar offerings. For those that need a brief recap, the Ultimate series is designed to push the envelope of performance, and the models in this series often incorporate many race proven technologies into their designs. The first of these offerings was the legendary McLaren F1 which helped define the 1990s, and it gave birth to the track only McLaren F1 GTR. Per racing regulations at the time, that beast spawned the road legal McLaren F1 LM. This continued with the P1, with McLaren …

Keep reading

2016 Toyota GAZOO Racecars & Series Preview – New TS050 LMP1 Revamp, WRC Yarii + New C-HR Racing and RC GT3

  Toyota Motorsport GmbH is now Toyota GAZOO Racing — with the new Euro-based entity bringing much of Toyota and Lexus’ racing efforts under one roof. The 2016 season outline is mindboggling!  Lots of new racecars and globetrotting race series.  We have a look at new rally cars: — Land Cruiser rally truck — Yaris WRC — Yaris GRMN — GT86 And new endurance racers in the form of two upgraded Lexus RC’s, a GT86 and even a new Nurbirgring entry for this year: the C-HR Racing.  No sight of this production version of the concept seen in 2015, nor …

Keep reading

2016 Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept 10

2016 Faraday Future FFZERO1 Concept Throws Down Gauntlet – Now or Never, Laggards

Well, this is it!  Nearly 24 hours after the leaks began, and a full 12 since the press conference in Vegas last night, the Faraday Future concept car for CES is now in clear focus. Before you get too excited about a full reveal — with the normal specs, pricing and a production roadmap —it is best to temper expectations. This fantasy concept from Faraday Future is not headed for the road. Nor is it really headed for any race series. But racetracks? That is another story.  The quad-motor, AWD EV promises 1000+ horsepower and a 200-mph-plus top speed.  The electric motors are …

Keep reading

1989 Porsche 962 Miller High Life Racer 12

Mecum Kissimmee 2016 – 1989 Porsche 962 Miller High Life 24H Daytona-Winner

The 959 might hold most Porsche glory for taking turbocharging to the next level of performance. But in truth, the turbo racing engine was fine-tuned into a world-beater in the Porsche 962. This particular example is a racing-winning stunner with a unique Miller livery — shimmery in eighties gold  and green over white with Porsche Andial title sponsorship. The magesty of the 962 is that it was the ultimate evolution of the wedge race profile. Decked out in ductwork and extra intakes all over the bodywork, the 962 and its open-backed design was optimized for 250-mph-plus runs down the Mulsanne …

Keep reading

2015 Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is Ready to Race

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 …

Keep reading

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

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 …

Keep reading

2015 Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo World Premiere – 300MPH Fantasy LM Racer Is Close To Reality

The Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo bowed this morning — as a stunning masterpiece, of course! The full-scale prototype will be on the Frankfurt show stand mid-month, where this racing-focused redesign of the Veyron SS Vitesse will fill in for a next-generation Bugatti reveal. A Veyron-shaped machine is currently in hot and cold weather testing at the moment — quashing rumors of a Bugatti SUV or limousine as the Veyron replacement. This shared overall mid-engine look is all that we know from the test cars dubbed Chiron in some auto mags. In this regard, the currently-testing Bugatti is likely to be …

Keep reading

RM Monterey 2015 - 1938 Adler Trumpf Rennlimousine 7

RM Monterey 2015 – 1938 Adler Trumpf RennLimousine – LM ‘Racing Sedan’ with Airship Aero

The fantastic convergence of aerospace and supercars has a glorious history! This Adler Trumpf Rennlimo from 1938 represented a fascinating view of automotive aerodynamics in a time before effective wind tunnels or computer simulations. The learnings and design principles of aerodynamics were far more theoretical in the pre-jet age. Yet Adler designers brought great insights from airship and Zeppelin design into the car world to great results. This ‘racing sedan,’ as the Rennlimo translates, was the first closed-cockpit racer to take on LeMans. Just six were produced for sale, all with unique spindle and wing tweaks to the bodywork. The …

Keep reading

2015-Nissan-GT-R-LM-Nismo-22info

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

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 …

Keep reading

Nissan GT-R LM NISMO Testing in Sebring

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

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 …

Keep reading

2015-Porsche-919-Hybrid-2sdsxdf

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

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 …

Keep reading

1968 Ford GT40 Gulf Mirage Lightweight LM Racecar 26

1968 Ford GT40 Gulf Mirage Lightweight LM Racecar – Most Valuable American Car Of All Time?

When it comes to racing greats and the all-time automotive hall of fame, this Gulf GT40 is certainly in the top ten. This exact car was the first to win a race wearing the now-legendary Gulf racing livery. Until this GT40 crossed the finish line in first place at Spa, these iconic powder blue and marigold colors were just another racing stripe. This GT40 is also the most valuable American car ever sold at auction, and likely ever made. It is unlikely that any other American car has changed hands privately for a bigger sum. (But is the GT40 even …

Keep reading

Nissan GT-R LM NISMO

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

 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 …

Keep reading

2015 Nissan GT-R LM NISMO 8a

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

 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 …

Keep reading

650S Le Mans_01-vert

2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans by MSO Celebrates F1 GTR’s Race Victory 20 Years Ago

  McLaren Special Operations just revealed their next project: a special run of 650S Coupes inspired by the McLaren F1’s Le Mans win 20 years ago. Monoblock five-spoke alloys and grey paint are part of the package, as is the legacy of the F1’s amazing achievement around LeSarthe in 1995.   2015 McLaren 650S Le Mans by MSO McLaren P1 GTR McLAREN SPECIAL OPERATIONS ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF THE McLAREN 650S LE MANS CELEBRATING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF FAMOUS WIN 20/01/15 Limited edition model launched to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the McLaren F1 GTR victory at the 24 Hours of Le …

Keep reading

Porswche goodwood 2014 GIF

Goodwood 2014 Galleries – PORSCHE Macan Turbo, Panamera S E-Hybrid, RS Spyder, 962 and 917

My huge crush on the Macan is an open secret. Great to see how wonderful it looks being pushed to the edge up the hill! Also including a cool photo I found recently of the 917 doing a jump test, plus that monster 16-cylinder 917 prototype from last week… 917 MACAN TURBO PANAMERA S E-HYBRID RS SPYDER GT1 LM Check out the tarts in the right of this photo testing the Lola Aston Martin… 962 and 935

Audi Sport quattro laserlight concept    Detail  Farbe: Plasmarot

Audi Laserlight Tech – New Images of R18 LM and Sport Quattro from Audi Motorsport

LEDs are amazing. They are so astounding in ways that lightbulbs could never be. As a solid state, LEDs are as toss-able as a SuperBall versus a delicate 40W Soft White bulb. As incandescent bulbs no longer meet energy requirements for US manufacture from 2014, it is clear: Lighting is a huge, important place to earn energy savings. But it can also change your life! LED Light-up dog balls are my personal favorite. Without the searing, pure and consistent light of the internal LED: playing catch in the dark is tricky for even the smartest pups. http://store.flashflight.com/product_info.php?products_id=116 Back to Audi’s …

Keep reading

1964 Chevrolet CERV II7 ANIMATED GIF

RM Auctions and Sotheby's Triple Pre-Sale Estimates at NY Gala

The landmark collaboration between auto experts RM Auctions and artful Sotheby’s set new heights with November 2013’s “Art of the Automobile.” The week-long extravaganza sounds like it went perfectly, at least in terms of the pricing delivered to sellers and the variety of exceptional cars on display. This might have been one of those weeks in a city like Manhattan. Where millions of people walk by a dark building without a clue how much majesty is just a few feet away through the bricks. The cars were on display for pre-sale viewings, making this a bit of a secret garden …

Keep reading

1964 Chevrolet CERV II7 ANIMATED GIF

RM Auctions and Sotheby’s Triple Pre-Sale Estimates at NY Gala

The landmark collaboration between auto experts RM Auctions and artful Sotheby’s set new heights with November 2013’s “Art of the Automobile.” The week-long extravaganza sounds like it went perfectly, at least in terms of the pricing delivered to sellers and the variety of exceptional cars on display. This might have been one of those weeks in a city like Manhattan. Where millions of people walk by a dark building without a clue how much majesty is just a few feet away through the bricks. The cars were on display for pre-sale viewings, making this a bit of a secret garden …

Keep reading