Le Mans
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It's hard to believe, but Pebble Beach and its assorted festivities are just around the corner again. On August 17-18, two fantastic examples of the Ford GT40 will cross the auction block at RM Auctions' Monterey event--one of which was used to film Steve McQueen's film Le Mans. The McQueen film car is a 1968 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight Racing Car, chassis no. P/1074. It saw actual race use in 1968 before spending time in the film business. The second car is a nearly all-original 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I, chassis no. P/1059. According to RM Auctions, it's regarded as one of the most original GT40s in...
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Ferrari F70 Spied, Cadillac Hands-Off SuperCruising, Audi At Le Mans: Car News Headlines
The 2013 Ferrari F70, the code-named successor to the Enzo, has been spied yet again. Though the heavy camouflage makes it look quite funky, the statistics sound brilliant. Will the F70 be the new king of the super cars? Cadillac says it will bring its hands-off "SuperCruise" cruise control--a...
Nelson Ireson -
Aston Martin Announces Inaugural Racing Festival Of Le Mans
Proving that there’s no such thing as too much racing, Aston Martin has announced the entry list for the inaugural Aston Martin Racing Festival of Le Mans, scheduled to tale place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, in conjunction with this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Meant to be a...
Kurt Ernst -
Lotus Announces Evora GTC Racer
Building from the established Lotus Evora GT4 racer, Lotus has announced the availability of the new Evora GTC. Aimed at the latest Le Mans Series class of near-production cars, the Evora GTC will go head to head against the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the Ferrari F430 Challenge in Le Mans GTC...
Kurt Ernst -
Bentley Weighs Up Options For Motorsports Comeback
The last time a Bentley automobile took to the track in top-level motorsports was 2003, when the legendary brand from Crewe won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Bentley Speed 8. Since then there have been inklings that the automaker was looking at a return to motorsports, which culminated late last...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How Forza 4 Recorded Its Loudest Car, The Mazda 787B: Video
The Mazda 787B race car was an instantaneous legend. Driven to victory in the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hour race, it remains both the only Japanese car ever to win the race, and the only rotary-engined winner too. Perhaps even more than its shape, the defining characteristic of the 787B is its piercing...
Antony Ingram -
As we reported back in January, Morgan Motor Company has teamed up with France's OAK Racing to enter Le Mans in the LMP2 class, albeit with re-branded Pescarolo World Endurance Championship cars. This video shows the first shakedown test of the new joint effort as the team readies to bring the Morgan name back to Le Mans a half century after the brand's class victory. That victory came in 1962 in the GT 2.0 class via a Morgan +4, one of Morgan's classically-styled roadsters, powered by a Triumph 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder. Morgan has competed before and after, including its last time in...
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2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro Hybrid Le Mans Prototype Debuts
Testament to Audi’s commitment towards pioneering new technologies, the brand with the four rings has unveiled its new 2012 Le Mans racing prototypes, which combine highly-efficient TDI diesel engines with hybrid technology and quattro all-wheel-drive. Audi first saw Le Mans victory back in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Peugeot Cancels Endurance Racing Program, Cites Poor Euro Economy
To focus on new product launches and trim unnecessary expenses, Peugeot has announced that it will withdraw from endurance racing.
Kurt Ernst -
Porsche At Le Mans Video Series Looks To The Future
In 2014 Porsche will be reliving its Le Mans glory days with a brand new LMP1 race car and a determined team of drivers and engineers. In the lead-up to the 2014 season, Porsche has been looking at its past performance in an intimate video series detailing a 60-year history of Le Mans racing. The...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar E-Type Sculpture Raises Money For Charity
Between 1963 and 1964, Jaguar produced a special racing version of its popular E-Type (known in the U.S. as the XK-E). Of the 12 "Lightweight E-Type" units manufactured, one was taken by E-Type designer Malcolm Sayer and converted into a Low-Drag Coupe for tackling Le Mans. Recently, that car --...
Richard Read -
Audi Announces R8 LMS Ultra For 2012 Racing Season
Audi's successful R8 LMS GT3 race car is being retired after the 2011 season, replaced by the new R8 LMS ultra.
Kurt Ernst -
The Nomex driver's suit worn by Steve McQueen in the classic film "Le Mans" will hit the auction block next month, and estimates are that it could bring as much as $300,000.
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Toyota Announces Driver Lineup For 2012 Le Mans Comeback
Toyota is showing just how serious it is about its 2012 endurance racing comeback by announcing today its driver lineup for the newly established World Endurance Championship. Driving the automaker’s new hybrid LMP1 prototype race car will be Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota Announces 2012 Le Mans Comeback And New Hybrid LMP1 Race Car
It’s official. Toyota has announced its intention to compete in the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, the highlight of which is the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans taking place on June 16 and 17 of next year. The Japanese automaker will compete with a new gasoline-electric hybrid...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
One-Two Finish For Peugeot At Petit Le Mans
Peugeot has managed to capitalize on its strong qualifying position during this past weekend’s American Le Mans Series season-ending Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta. As has been the case in most years, the race came down to a battle between Peugeot and Audi but in the end it was...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Bentley To Announce Le Mans Comeback Next Summer
While Formula 1 is still the top echelon for motorsports, Le Mans endurance racing looks to be more and more exciting for the major automakers. Porsche recently confirmed its return to the top level LMP1 class in 2014 and Lexus, too, is rumored to be preparing an LFA race car for the GTE class. Now...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi R8 V8 Limited Edition Celebrates Le Mans Victory: Forbidden Fruit
To celebrate its recent win at the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi is releasing a limited run of custom R8 supercars based on the entry-level V-8 model. The only problem is that all 100 units planned will be sold exclusively in the UK. The special edition models will be called the Audi R8 V8...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hot on the heels of gamer-turned-racer Lucas Ordoñez taking a second in class finish at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour race two weeks ago, the creator of the game that brought Lucas to fame, Gran Turismo, has had some success of his own. Kazunori Yamauchi, the visionary behind the Gran Turismo game franchise, took a first in class victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race in Germany, which finished on Sunday. Driving a race prepared 2011 Nissan GT-R, Kazunori-san and his team-mates completed 134 laps in 24 hours, 2 minutes and 26.9 seconds. The race is run on the extended 24-hour...
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Patrick Dempsey Drives The Mazda 787B Race Car At Le Mans: Video
This past weekend the unique Mazda 787B race car powered by four-rotor Wankel rotary engine took to the famous Circuit de la Sarthe in France during an exhibition run prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance car. As we previously reported, the 787B won Le Mans race 20 years ago, making Mazda the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Wins 24 Hours Of Le Mans With R18 TDI #2
Audi has taken out this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, with its number ‘2’ R18 TDI Le Mans prototype clenching victory at the hands of Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France). The achievement marks...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Wins Le Mans 2011, R18 TDI Withstands Huge Crashes
Audi Sport has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the La Sarthe circuit in Northern France in one of the closest races in many years, but were it not for the strength and safety of the R18 TDI sports prototype, the weekend could have been very different. Less than an hour into the race, star driver...
Antony Ingram -
Alan McNish Suffers Violent Crash In Audi R18 At 24 Hours Of Le Mans: Video
This weekend is the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe in France, and just one hour into the race driver Allan McNish suffered a violent crash in his Audi R18 race car after coming into contact with a Ferrari 458 Italia near Dunlop curve. McNish is a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Don't Get The Le Mans 24 Hours On TV? Get An Audi Eye View
As we speak the Le Mans 24 Hour sports car race at Le Mans in France has been underway for just under an hour. If you're not lucky enough to be enjoying a beer by the side of the circuit or at least don't have access to a television feed for the race, fear not. Front-running team Audi has their own...
Antony Ingram