24 Hours of Le Mans
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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...
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2017 Michelin Challenge Design imagines Le Mans in 2030Michelin 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...
Jeff Glucker -
Meet the grand daddy of all Porsche race cars, the 1951 356 SL Gmünd CoupePriceless 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche reveals tech behind Le Mans-winning 919 HybridPorsche’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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford lights up HQ to celebrate Le Mans win... againFord 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...
Jeff Glucker -
Replica of long-lost Briggs Cunningham Corvette shows up at Le MansUpdate: 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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...
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Bugatti CEO drives new Chiron faster than a race car at Le MansThe 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...
Andrew Ganz -
2016 24 Hours of Le Mans: Wins for Porsche, Ford overshadowed by heartbreak for ToyotaIt 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Ford GT in production guise surprises at Le MansThere’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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lego Ford GT on display at Le MansFord 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...
Andrew Ganz -
Flat out at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 956As 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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...
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Ford, Porsche secure pole for 2016 24 Hours of Le MansThis 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi's 24 Hours of Le Forza solves problem of peeing in a race suitBlasting 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...
Aaron Cole -
Ford of France celebrates 50th anniversary of Le Mans win with special editionsThe 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...
Andrew Ganz -
Porsche restores dilapidated Le Mans-winning 911Porsche 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Watch Prodrive build an Aston Martin Vantage GTE racer in 60 secondsWhen 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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...
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2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype revealedThe 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota TS050 Hybrid for 2016 WEC revealed with twin-turbo V-6, 986 hp: VideoToyota 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford reveals driver lineup for 2016 Le Mans returnFord 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche Shows Off 919 Hybrid's V-4 Engine For First TimeIn 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Panoz Rolls Out Restored Road-Going Esperante GTR-1 At Dubai Motor ShowAmerican 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran