24 Hours of Le Mans

  • 2016 Audi R18 LMP1 race car

    Audi has confirmed earlier reports that it is about to end its participation in the World Endurance Championship. Audi will exit the sport at the end of the 2016 season, in the process ending 18 years of prototype racing. (The final race will be the 6 Hours of Bahrain on November 19.) During those years, Audi managed 13 wins in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, the highlight of the WEC. “After 18 years in prototype racing that were exceptionally successful for Audi, it’s obviously extremely hard to leave,” Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich said in a statement...

  • Infiniti Le Mans 2030 is 2017 Michelin Design Challenger winner
    2017 Michelin Challenge Design imagines Le Mans in 2030

    Michelin loves pushing the envelope when it comes to future automotive design. The tire company often holds design challenge contests that give gifted folks a topic and let them loose. For the 2017 challenge, which is so futuristic that it's taking place in 2016, the contestants were asked to...

  • 1951 Porsche 356 SL Gmünd Coupe - Image via Drew Phillips Photography
    Meet the grand daddy of all Porsche race cars, the 1951 356 SL Gmünd Coupe

    Priceless is a word thrown around a lot these days when describing classic cars, but for this 1951 Porsche 356 SL Gmünd Coupe there really isn’t a more appropriate descriptor. It’s the first Porsche sports car developed for racing, and it’s the first to have notched up a...

  • Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car’s electric energy recovery and drive system
    Porsche reveals tech behind Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid

    Porsche’s 919 Hybrid is proving to be one of the most successful race cars in the German automaker’s history. It’s currently in its third year of competition and already under its belt are a title in the World Endurance Championship and a pair of victories in the 24 Hours of Le...

  • Ford headquarters lit up to celebrate Le Mans win
    Ford lights up HQ to celebrate Le Mans win... again

    Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] claimed victory at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class. This win comes 50 years after the Blue Oval pulled off a one-two-three finish at the iconic French race using its iconic GT40. To celebrate the win made by the modern GT, Ford lit up its headquarters...

  • #1 Briggs Cunningham 1960 Chevrolet Corvette - Image via Motor.es
    Replica of long-lost Briggs Cunningham Corvette shows up at Le Mans

    Update: This car is a replica of the Briggs Cunningham #1 1960 Chevrolet Corvette and not the original as stated in an earlier version of the story. A 1960 Chevrolet Corvette long thought lost to history was finally found in 2012. The car was one of three Corvettes fielded in the 1960 24 Hours of...

  • Toyota at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans

    Poised to win its first ever 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend, tragedy struck for Toyota as its leading #5 TS050 Hybrid prototype competing in the premier LMP1 category suddenly lost power in the closing minutes of the race. Details are now starting to emerge on what exactly went wrong with the car. In a post-race update, Toyota revealed that a connector on the piping between the turbocharger and intercooler failed and resulted in a loss of control of the turbocharger. Race engineers managed to bypass the turbo and get the car moving again in limp mode but by then Porsche and its winning #2...

  • Bugatti Chiron at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans
    Bugatti CEO drives new Chiron faster than a race car at Le Mans

    The fastest car at last weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans wasn't decked out with sponsor graphics and racing tires. It was, instead, a street-legal Bugatti that you, too, can buy... assuming you're of the especially well-heeled variety. We are of course talking about the new Chiron. Bugatti CEO...

  • #5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans
    2016 24 Hours of Le Mans: Wins for Porsche, Ford overshadowed by heartbreak for Toyota

    It was the cruelest of endings on Sunday at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, with car trouble costing Toyota the overall win in the closing minutes. Heavy rain prior to the race led to some flooding and saw the safety car on the track for almost the entire first hour. Once the race was on, Toyota led...

  • Production-spec Ford GT at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans
    2017 Ford GT in production guise surprises at Le Mans

    There’s an assortment of cars racing around the Circuit de la Sarthe in this weekend’s 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, which at the time of writing is led by Toyota and one of its TS050 Hybrid LMP1s, but one car in particular is creating plenty of excitement off the track. Ford Motor Company...

  • Lego Ford GT
    Lego Ford GT on display at Le Mans

    Ford thinks it has all the pieces together to dominate the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, but the automaker's racing car isn't quite put together the same way as the 4,000-piece Lego model it is displaying on the sidelines of the grueling race in France. Rendered in 1/3 scale, the Lego version of...

  • Derek Bell behind the wheel of the #1 Rothmans Porsche 956 at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans
    Flat out at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 956

    As you get ready to spend a 24-hour chunk of your weekend watching a varied assortment of cars racing around a circuit in the middle of France, enjoy this video of a flying lap from more than three decades ago. The scene is the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans and doing the driving is racing legend Derek...

  • Audi R8 safety car drifts in rain at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

    During a rainy practice session ahead of this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans, an Audi R8 safety car dramatically sped around the track but was caught on camera in the midst of an epic, apparently unintentional, drift. The R8 was said to be piloted by Yannick Dalmas, a four-time Le Mans champion, but reports have so far not confirmed just who was behind the wheel. From the video, the R8's drift doesn't look to have been on purpose, especially with how aggressively the driver saved the supercar from sliding off the wet race track. Rain is often a theme at Le Mans, but this week has seen nearly...

  • Ford GTs at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans
    Ford, Porsche secure pole for 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans

    This is the moment Blue Oval fans around the world have been waiting years for: Ford Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] imminent return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And the American automaker is off to a solid start for this weekend’s race, the highlight of the 2016 World Endurance Championship...

  • Audi 24 Hours of Le Forza
    Audi's 24 Hours of Le Forza solves problem of peeing in a race suit

    Blasting the Mulsanne Straight at 200 mph in an LMP1 car must be a hugely thrilling experience, on par with the first bite of candied bacon or wrestling a bear. I've only heard. Wetting yourself? That's not awesome. Anyone who's ever endurance raced will tell you that it's an...

  • Ford of France celebrates 50th anniversary of 1-2-3 Le Mans win
    Ford of France celebrates 50th anniversary of Le Mans win with special editions

    The latest Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] GT isn't quite ready for showrooms yet, so Ford of France is marking the 50th anniversary of the GT40's now-legendary 1-2-3 win at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans with a special edition package for the Fiesta ST, Focus ST, Focus RS and Mustang GT. Only 50 units...

  • 1972 Porsche 911 2.5 S/T
    Porsche restores dilapidated Le Mans-winning 911

    Porsche used this past week’s Techno Classica event in Essen, Germany to present a beautifully restored 911 with an impressive motorsport pedigree. The car is a 1972 Porsche 911 2.5 S/T that was discovered only a few years ago sitting in a dilapidated state somewhere in the United States...

  • 2016 Aston Martin Vantage GTE race car
    Watch Prodrive build an Aston Martin Vantage GTE racer in 60 seconds

    When it comes to racing, Aston Martin’s weapon of choice is the compact and lightweight Vantage sports car. However, the Vantage that takes to some of the world’s top racing tracks in events like the World Endurance Championship and United Sportscar Championship is very different to the...

  • 2016 Audi R18 LMP1 race car

    This year’s World Endurance Championship is just getting started with official testing, known as the Prologue, currently underway at France’s Circuit Paul Ricard. Audi has been the dominant force in top-level endurance racing for the past decade but has lost out to rivals in recent years: Toyota in 2014 and Porsche in 2015. To get back on top, the brand with the four rings has introduced a new R18 Le Mans Prototype designed from scratch. According to the automaker, the 2016 R18 has almost nothing in common with its predecessor. The car will once again compete in the premier LMP1...

  • 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car
    2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype revealed

    The 2016 World Endurance Championship, the successor to the World Sportscar Championship, is now entering its fifth season and out to defend its title is Porsche. The German automaker will once again field its successful 919 Hybrid though for the latest season there have been key changes made in...

  • 2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 race car
    Toyota TS050 Hybrid for 2016 WEC revealed with twin-turbo V-6, 986 hp: Video

    Toyota has revealed full details for its hybrid Le Mans prototype that will compete in the 2016 World Endurance Championship, the highest echelon for endurance racing and whose highlight is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car is the TS050 Hybrid, which like it its TS040 predecessor will compete in the...

  • 2016 Ford GT race car
    Ford reveals driver lineup for 2016 Le Mans return

    Ford Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] new GT, in race car trim, made its motorsport debut back in January during the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The car, although quick, suffered from poor reliability and thus didn’t have a dream run for...

  • Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car’s V-4 engine
    Porsche Shows Off 919 Hybrid's V-4 Engine For First Time

    In only its second year of competition, Porsche’s 919 Hybrid LMP1-spec race car not only took home top honors in the 24 Hours of Le Mans but also the title in the World Endurance Championship. This year will see the 919 Hybrid enter its third year of competition and this time it’s about...

  • 1997 Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Le Mans homologation special
    Panoz Rolls Out Restored Road-Going Esperante GTR-1 At Dubai Motor Show

    American sports car brand Panoz is present at this week’s 2015 Dubai Motor Show where the company is showing off its latest Esperante Spyder and Spyder GT models. And sharing the stand with the open-top sports cars is a very special model from Panoz’s past: the 1997 Esperante GTR-1 Le...

Follow Us on Instagram @motorauthority

News First Drives Auto Shows Photos Videos Spy Shots