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Posts Tagged “

LeMans

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racing news

New Porsche RS Spyder Race Engine Gets Direct Injection

Proving that road technology eventually filters down to race hardware, Porsche will be upgrading the 3.4L V8 present in its ALMS LMP2 class Porsche RS Spyder with direct injection. The technology was developed for the Porsche Cayenne and Porsche 911, and, given the performance advantages, engineers decided to back-hack it into the prototype V8. The old version of the engine turned out a stout 476 HP at 10,000 RPM along with 273 lb-ft at 7,500 rpm; the direct injection and obviously remapped fuel curve bump power to 503 HP at 10,000 RPM, and 284 lb-ft of torque at 8,500 rpm. This motor communes with hummingbirds.

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10:20 AM on Thu Jul 31 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,800 views, 23 comments

Latest by Dearthair the Totally Uncreative: This is actually doubly impressive, as my understanding of direct fuel injection was that the higher the RPMs, the higher the fuel pressure that was required in order to get a clean burn. By the time it passes something like more »

racing news

Read Our Post About The 24 Hours Of Le Mans, Save 23 Hours And 58 Minutes (Spoilers)

For those who didn't watch the entire 24 Hours Of Le Mans by subsisting on a diet of Bawls and Pop Rocks this weekend, we've got a short wrap-up for you. We'll leave the salient details for below the jump, just in case there are some of you out there that TiVo'd the festivities and are planning to dole out the oil-burning goodness four hours at a time for the next week. Needless to say, some cars won. Others didn't. There was weather. If you want to know more you're going to have to click the button that says "more." More »

12:45 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,753 views, 16 comments

Latest by n/a: Both Penske cars were invited. If you win the ALMS championship, you get an automatic invite. If you win Petit Le Mans, you also get an automatic invite. Penske won both. They decided not go. more »

racing news

Peugeot 908 HDI Smacks Wall @ 170 MPH Ahead Of Le Mans 2008

Peugeot has been making big waves in the world of Le Mans Prototype racing this year with their new-from-stem-to-stern Peugeot 908 HDI. The cars have been running well in the pre-test for this year's race at Le Mans, but as driver Marc Gene shows us here, accidents happen — at 170 MPH and into a wall. Apparently the car's aerodynamics aren't totally settled yet, as we see the 908 totally lose it in a corner and catch air, flying with the greatest of ease into the barrier. Thankfully, Gene managed to get out of this one with only a dislocated toe, but he should probably be thanking his respective deity that this wasn't worse. [Youtube] More »

12:30 PM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
5,677 views, 30 comments

Latest by syrax: Their race cars are strong but don't handle well, and their street cars handle well but they're not strong. I don't know what's worst. more »

racing news

Aston Martin Preps For Repeat Le Mans Victory, We Gawk At Familiar Colors

As if the pair of victorious Aston Martin DBR9 race cars aren't delicious enough, this year they're rocking Gulf Oil livery. With the 24 Hours Of Le Mans just two weeks away, teams have been testing their cars on La Sarthe in advance of the big day and we've got a batch of photos of cars 009 and, appropriately, 007. In addition to these beauties, Aston Martin is also powering an LMP1 Prototype being entered by Charouz Racing. Photos and press release below.

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10:40 AM on Mon Jun 2 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,460 views, 18 comments

Latest by Shapeshifter: @Novaload: I'm pretty sure a Gulf colored DBR9 (or any kind of Aston Martin) at LeMons would be cheating, somehow. more »

sultan of brunei

A Garage Fit For a King: The Best Of The Sultan Of Brunei's Amazing Car Collection

Ferrari wagon-izations and hypercars bathed in magnetizing yellow are just a couple hints the Sultan of Brunei is perhaps the most Jalopnik head of state in the whole world. Like us, he seems to have a maddening obsession with odd cars. However, what sets him apart is his seemingly unending pot of money with which to manifest his wildest automotive fantasies. Although word on the streets of Bandar Seri Begawan is his fiscal fortunes have depleted as of late, before he sold off some of his assets, he and his family created what may be the most impressive car collection the world has ever seen. Although we already knew this, it wasn't until we were surfing the pages of our fave super car photo site that we realized the sheer height of awesome the collection truly achieved. Not only did they gather production cars, they commissioned the creation of entirely new models from manufacturers like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Bentley. Hit the jump as we walk you through the crème de' le' crème of the massive collection of automotive exotica found in the garage of the Sultan of Brunei. More »

Feature

12:30 PM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Mark Arnold
23,774 views, 92 comments

Latest by donkeyassman: The rolls has a backseat big enough to preform an abortion in more »

new york auto show

Jalopnik Drives Hybrid Technologies Lithium-Powered Super Car

Hardigree and I drove our respective red supercars at roughly the same time yesterday. While he went for the flashy Audi R8 V12 LeMans TDI Prototype and was escorted through traffic like a Russian Oil Baron by a phalanx of Audi Q7s, I hopped into the Hybrid Technologies Lithium Powered Super Car with the guy who built it. There was no top, so I enjoyed the welcome good weather—at last!—in NYC. OK, maybe the name needs a little work, but the car itself was a hoot to drive.
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Feature

9:00 AM on Fri Mar 21 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,944 views, 33 comments

Latest by stopcrazypp: @iamjames: @Tyson: This press release from Jan 2007 (before the Popular Mechanics article on april 2007) shows the L1X-75 probably NEVER had those stats. The range quoted was 100 miles in this article too.[www.autobloggreen.com] I think there might have been some more »

new york auto show

Audi R8 V12 TDI Le Mans Diesel Prototype

Our auto show coverage slogan is "always say yes." This time we said yes to a first drive of the Audi R8 V12 TDI Le Mans concept car, which looks ravishing in the same brilliant red paint scheme it wore to Geneva. But who really cares about paint? We were looking forward to stretching this one-of-a-kind vehicle to the limits. And by stretching it out we mean doing our best not to destroying this invaluable prototype by propelling it into a pot hole.

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Feature

5:01 PM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Matt Hardigree
8,574 views, 64 comments

Latest by tonyorlandondawn: This looks like a 99 Eclipse rear ended by a Cyclon Centurion and nine months later this comes out more »

new york auto show

Audi R8 Diesel Is Coming Sans Four Cylinders, Booourns

Little did we know that as we spent our time hanging around the Audi V12 LeMans concept at the Audi party in Manhattan last night that this particular model may never be. According to AutoBlog.nl, Audi's Martin Dick announced the V12 TDI would inspire a diesel model carrying a 382 HP 4.8-Liter TDI V8, instead. While this may help with fuel economy and price, it means prospective buyers will have roughly 118 horsepower less to play with.

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Feature

10:15 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,120 views, 33 comments

Latest by Schm is not particularly sure what he is ranting about. . .: Somebody lost 4 cylinders. . . I SHALL FIND TEM!! DOC SCHM TO TEH RESQ!! more »

new york auto show

Porsche Coming To New York, Bringing Three "World Premiere" Vehicles

Porsche just dropped a presser on us which has us scratching our heads. Any time we read words like "Porsche" and "First" and "Shown" in a press release, we expect the things contained therein to be, you know, Porsches being shown for the first time. In this case, that's maybe only partially true. In breathless verbiage, we're told all about the amazing new Porsche Cayenne GTS, Porsche 911 GT2, Porsche Boxster RS60 Spyder and the racing Porsche RS Spyder. Problem is we've already seen the Porsche Cayenne GTS and the Porsche 911 GT2 in the flesh, the Porsche Boxster RS60 Spyder has been both on the web and boring for nigh on three and a half months. And it would be a shock if the Porsche RS Spyder which has already won more races than we care to count wasn't pretty well known. So at the end of the day, we're really confused on exactly what it is we're supposed to be excited about here. But — the press release in all of it's breathlessness is below the jump. More »

Feature

3:00 PM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,788 views, 23 comments

Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: @DoctorNine: I disagree strongly. I'd like EVERY advertisement and product press release state the total purchase price. In fact, this should be regulated to eliminate the "dollar down, dollar when you catch me" financing shenanigans. Those who can't stand to more »

accessories

Tag Heuer Develops Night Driving Glasses

Tag Heuer has announced a pair of glasses called "Night Vision," designed with the driver in mind. First off, these aren't night vision. Night vision is something worn by covert ops in badass espionage flicks. These are low-light glasses. The glasses have been optimized for driving at night thanks to some engineering that corrects low-light and short-sightedness situations that usually occur in evening driving. More »

10:00 AM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Travis Hudson
14,819 views, 30 comments

racing news

Aston Martin Vantage GT2 Tests For Le Mans

We've known for a while that Aston Martin was preparing a GT2 Racer based on the V8 Vantage. But now, thanks to the guys at UltimateCarPage, we've got photos of it in action during a test session at the Paul Ricard circuit. The 4.3-liter V8 is expected to make around 480 HP. So, this is a couple steps up from the GT4-spec Vantage N24, and a step down from the GT1-spec DBR9. Aston is scrambling to finish the GT2, and is expected to deliver cars to teams a couple races into the season. It will be raced in ALMS, FIA GT and Le Mans Series, so all those Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, Ferrari F430 GTCs, and BMW M3 GTRs better watch their mirrors. [via UltimateCarPage]

10:00 AM on Thu Mar 6 2008
By Mark Arnold
1,169 views, 12 comments

Latest by voodoojoo: Every time I go to that site, I like to pretend that I'm going to most accurately judge how old my carp is, imagining a dedicated carp fisherman screaming at his computer "What do you mean that domain name is more »

geneva motor show

Audi R8 V12 TDI Le Mans Puts You In A Trance

We can't get enough of this Audi R8 V12 TDI Le Mans Concept. OK, so its not quite on the track or in showrooms just yet. And yes, it's an awfully brilliant "Brilliant Red" paint job on this oil-burning torque monster. However we imagine that when it does hit the streets with all that ground-pounding torque , the world might just spin backwards. Maybe that's why it's just sitting still for now. The globe needs time to brace itself for the impact. So much for diesels being Earth-friendly.

5:15 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Mark Arnold
2,089 views, 22 comments

Latest by Turboner: Just give me some ecstasy and let me drive it already. more »

star car shootout

Bullitt Mustang Or Le Mans Porsche?

Each week we'll let two silver screen automotive icons face off and let you decide which stays and which one goes home, tailpipe between their legs. That's right, it's like an online Thunderdome — except without the death thing. We call it the "Star Car Shootout." Let's get ready to rumble.

Last week we had the inaugural match of Star Car Shootout, in which the James Bond's Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me went head-to-head against the Lamborghini Countach from Speed Zone in a battle to decide which big screen star was cooler. We've counted the votes, and with most of the precincts now reporting, Jalopnik projects that the Lotus has won.

This week, we've got another big-shot superstar facing off against a relative underdog. Appropriately for our whole "Which is cooler?" hook, both cars co-starred with the "King of Cool" himself, Steve McQueen. Now, while McQueen certainly surrounded himself with some impressive rides over the years, for this shootout we had to pick just two of them. The others will have to wait their turn. So for this match, we're pitting the Ford Mustang 390 GT from Bullitt against the Porsche 911S 2.2L from Le Mans. Yes, you're now probably already visualizing those scenes in your head, but just in case you aren't, we've got the clips after the jump.
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Feature

1:00 PM on Wed Feb 27 2008
By Mark Arnold
7,051 views, 123 comments

Latest by MadMikeBeliso: BULLET MUSTANG! Like Steve McQueen, that car is a legend! For decades, that chase seen was the best ever filmed. And even now, it still ranks near the top. =) more »

custom cars

German Confounds Us With Pontiac LeSupra

The immediate reaction to this article sent to us by The Bouncer was an indignant cry of 'blasphemy!' What you see above is no ordinary 1972 Pontiac LeMans, indeed this dark horse has a dirty little secret. Tucked away under that sleek hood there lies no V8 engine, not even a V6, in fact, the engine wasn't even born in Detroit. It was plucked from none other than a Toyota Supra.

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4:20 PM on Tue Feb 19 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
2,795 views, 54 comments

Latest by n/a: We all know what the ponchos sound like, but if this THING sounds like it looks, I'd be looking over and around the Le-whatever for the rice burner that I'm hearing! more »

chicago auto show

Chicago Auto Show: BMW to Return to Racing in 2009, Bringing M3

Hot on the heels of the 2008 BMW M3 release, those rascally Germans have developed a racing variant to further develop the incredible tech already present in the stock automobile. In 2009 BMW will return to racing with team Rahal Letterman Racing in the American Lemans Series. We'll be bringing more details and pics (got em!) after we recover from the heart attack and can dig up a press release.

Feature

4:25 PM on Wed Feb 6 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
7,521 views, 20 comments

Latest by n/a: This looks like a car I could get myself killed in... more »

racing news

Aston Martin To Revive Gulf Oil Livery For Le Mans

Thanks to the Gulf Oil Ford GT40 MKIs MKII historic triumph at the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans we'll probably forever pay tribute to the light blue and orange colors. First it was the GT40 replicar paying homage and now, 40 years after the initial victory, the 2008 Aston Martin DBR9 will carry the Gulf Oil livery into battle once more to vanquish any foes trying to recapture the GT1 title at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. If a racing Aston is a bit out of your price range, may we suggest the Gulf Oil Bass? Full press release below the jump.

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11:15 AM on Thu Jan 10 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,866 views, 27 comments

Latest by Tom: porsche needs to do this with their rs spyders, bring back the 917 era days!! more »

racing news

Team Lexus Entering ALMS GT2 With Lexus IS 350 GT2

Hoping to put the Man back in the American LeMans series, Lexus released pictures of their new Panoz-fighting Lexus 350 GT2. Powered by a V6 that should generate more than 470 horsepower, the new Lexus hopes to compete with the likes of the M3, Viper Competition Coupe, Ferrari F430 GT and eventually the upcoming Aston Martin Vantage GT2.

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10:15 AM on Tue Jan 8 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,759 views, 13 comments

question of the day

Who Gets on the Jalopnik Endurance Racing Team?

Al Navarro week marches on! In truth, we're still in recovery mode as his Slut Machine Question nearly broke our hit counter. As many of you know, Murilee and I are hard at AIM work on an entry for next year's 24 Hours of LeMons. And no, we are still not ready to tell you what we're working on. We will say that it involves death metal. Lots of death metal. Moving forward, here's what Al asks today:
Nick Denton has either a momentary lapse in reason or a stroke of genius
and decides to sponsor a Jalopnik team at LeMans 24 or Sebring 12.
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12:00 PM on Thu Nov 8 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
584 views, 35 comments

Latest by DM993tt: Why wouldn't anyone suggest Alex's lesser know co-pilot Dave Maher, the guy did almost 2/3rds of "Alex's" record run and had to constantly tell him to go faster when he drove. Not only that but the guy has tons of more »

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