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Introduced to the world this past August, it seems that Audi and racing team ABT Sportsline are spending some time at the Nürburgring with this, supremely wild R8 GT3.

The hugely winged and kitted R8 is said to have been fitted to the requirements of a GT3 race car, meaning that all of its 500 horsepower is directed to the rear wheels only—as four-wheel drive isn’t permitted in the formula. That prodigious shove from the V-10 engine is handled through a six-speed sequential gearbox. We’ve heard rumors that the racy R8 was clearing the ‘Ring in laps of around eight minutes, forty seconds, which isn’t bad considering the recently rainy driving conditions.

Have a closer look at the super R8 GT3 in our gallery above, or scroll down below to read a few words penned by the spy shooter himself.

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In order to compete in the 634-mile-long 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, Volkswagen seemingly forged, machined, and filed away at a giant block of steel until the Touareg TDI Trophy Truck was born. To be unveiled at the L.A Auto Show, and christened with the name Touareg, the only similarities the truck has with its road-going relative are its four wheels and its name. Knowing that, it would certainly be quite a blunder to take this beast of a machine lightly.
 
A 5.5-liter V-12 clean turbo diesel engine growls somewhere underneath its sharp and cutting exterior and is able to produce 550 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. And will need every bit of that power considering it weighs in at a massive 5650 pounds. Hopefully, its Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission will be able to hold up to that combo.

+ Carscoop: VW To Unveil Touareg V12 TDI Race Truck at L.A. Show

With participants hailing from Formula 1, NASCAR, the World Touring Car Championship, the World Rally Championship, and more, the Race of Champions is a pretty impressive spectacle. The event challenges drivers, usually splint into teams representing the drivers’ country of origin, to navigate the super tight confines of a road course, shoehorned onto a stadium field.  The ROC found a new home at Wembley Stadium last winter, and will take place there again this year.

Adding a bit of excitement to the proceedings this go-round, the wide swath of racers will be piloting the hardcore KTM X-Bow. The newly debuted track demon would seem to be a natural choice for the tight confines of Wembley, and one that has got the drivers talking already.
 
Longtime F1 driver David Coulthard is excited to trade in his standard racecar confines for a night with the X-Bow, calling the car “ingenious” and adding, “I think it looks absolutely stunning – I can hardly wait to get behind the wheel in December.”

The ROC is set to go off on December 13th this year, though it remains to be seen if U.S. motorsports fans will get a broadcast.

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Following the recent trend of designers imagining up individualized track-day cars, Dieter Fuoss thought that he would show the world his own version—set to be released for the public in early 2009. The Fuoss 01, weighing in at just 661 pounds, is definitely one of the lighter lightweights. It is powered by a 400cc Suzuki engine capable of a wholesome 42 horses, with a 5-speed sequential gearbox to transfer the power to the wheels. Although the speed tops out at around 91 miles per hour, hitting that kind of speed while sitting low in such a tiny, light car will be saved for those that have enough courage, or at least a lack of sense.

Sadly, it won't come with any sort of top for rainy days but at least the interior is rainproof. So for those who don't mind shelling out $37,000, and maybe getting a little wet, this is could be the car for you. As a bonus, the Fuoss 01 will even do 47 miles per gallon, though most likely when it isn't being thrashed around on the track.
 
+ Motor Authority: Fuoss 01 hits the track in early 2009

The 2009 American Le Mans Series will mark the end for Corvette Racing competing in the GT1 class. The General Motors factory race team will transition to the GT2 class instead, possibly debuting at the Mid-Ohio ALMS race in August.

The GT2 entry will be based on the next generation Corvette C6R and compete while burning cellulosic E85. The new car will be almost indistinguishable from the current GT1 racer, apart from a smaller rear wing. Powered by a 6.0-liter engine, it will have less horsepower than the GT1 car, and the new car will also run steel brake rotors instead of the usual carbon fiber items.

According to Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager, the engineering and design work is done. All that is needed now is to build and assemble the cars which will begin in the next week or so.

Though Fehan is certain that the new car will not outright dominate the first time, he is still confident in the team's capabilities.

"We've done the simulations on it. We know what the rules are and we know what the other cars are capable of. When we finally come out we'll do the best job we possibly can," said Fehan.

+ American Le Mans Series: Corvette Racing Readies for GT2 Challenge

With twelve World Touring Car Championship wins under their belt using the Daewoo-built Lacetti, Chevrolet unveiled the new Cruze based WTCC contender for the 2009 season.

Equipped with a paintjob that appears to be some sort of digital camouflage made up of Chevrolet logos, the WTCC Cruze is already undergoing testing for its upcoming debut in Curitiba, Brazil next spring. So far, the team seems rather confident. According to motorsport manager Eric Nève, the "new Cruze will be the next milestone in Chevrolet Europe's motorsports history."

The championship racers are all based on compact and midsized cars, powered by 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engines. All the cars also have to be derived from its manufactured counterpart though heavy modifications are allowed. Judging from the pictures, the Cruze seems to at least look the part. Click through the post to read GM's official press release.

+ Autoblog: GM unveils Chevrolet Cruze WTCC racer

This four-minute long YouTube video is really one half Ford Escort Cosworth commercial and half extra-cheesy music video featuring the guitar stylings of Queen’s lead axe-wielder, Brian May. We’ve always loved the Cossie from afar, so we can really get behind some of the glorious detail shots and tail-out action in this nearly feature length ad (where did they show this thing?), but we must admit that May has done better work. Don’t miss the tail end when he throws a little Queen-style harmony in for good measure.

+ YouTube: Ford Escort Cosworth

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Mitsubishi Motors has just tipped its entry into the LA Auto Show Design Challenge for this year, and extraordinary conceptual rally car straight from the 2025 season.

The MMR25 concept makes use of a radical omnidirectional wheel design which uses eight independently controlled electric motors. The idea is that the wild wheels will be able to keep the vehicle moving on a forward path while pointing the nose in any direction that is called for. The net effect will be the ability to literally drive sideways, instead of just drifting like a modern rally car.

Naturally, the Mitsu rally car is all electrically powered, with fully recyclable batteries that are able to run for up to 1000 miles on a single charge. That may sound like a lot but we are talking about "uniform composite Nano fiber Lithium batteries" here - not your average Duracell.

And though the MM25 may look fairly badass from the outside, it sounds like kind of a terrifying proposition for the driver, who pilots the machine from the inside of a "windowless pod" somewhere below the center wing. This chamber of fear moves up and down with the wing as the MM25 goes about its business, feeding all of the visual information to the driver via a seamless 360 degree, prone to failure, panoramic display. And you thought today's rally drivers had stones.

Check out the full design brief below.

Oh, the bittersweet joy of being a Nissan dealer these days. Many of the longsuffering auto sellers have by now taken delivery of their tiny allotment of GT-Rs, perhaps lived with them in their showrooms for a day, maybe two? And then are forced to hand over the keys for nothing more than hugely inflated sums of money. Not a fate we’d wish on anyone really.

Luckily, it looks as if a few enterprising Midwestern dealers have managed to squeeze a little time in behind the wheel, at least if these photos from Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove, Wisconsin can be believed. It seems as if two spanking new GT-Rs showed up at the Wisconsin drag strip recently ready to throw some rubber around. One of the cars was allegedly piloted by a newly minted GT-R owner feverishly anxious to find out what his prize was capable of, while the other was a pre-delivery model being driven by a dealership employee who just couldn’t help himself.

While it must really be tough to say "no" in a situation like the one pictured here, we’d like to shout a bit of a warning to anyone ready to take GT-R delivery in the greater Chicago area in the near future. Keep a close eye on tire wear, mileage, and maybe just a little bit of throw-up near the driver’s seat. Caveat Emptor and everything.

+ GTRBlog

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Maserati is planning to bring a hardcore, racing tuned version of its effortlessly beautiful GranTurismo coupe to the Paris Motor Show next week, called the MC Corse Concept.
 
Suitable for those Maser buyers who’re more interested in racing than posing in their Italian supercars, the Corse offers quite a few meaningful upgrades over the standard car. The most obvious difference from the outside is the new aero package that the car wears, including a prominent front splitter that is said to purposefully funnel air to the revised and enlarged rear spoiler, keeping the Corse firmly planted on the track. The racing concept has also been lightened – Maserati specifies that the MC Corse weights less than 1400 Kilograms or 3086 pounds – and draws more power from its 4.7-liter V-8, now rated at 450 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque.

Various additional scoops, creases, and a racy white livery complete the Corse package, and ensure that the Maserati stand will be buzzing at the Paris show. Check out the car in the gallery above.

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After recently seeing spied images that hinted towards a possible RS version of Porsche’s popular Boxster , new evidence in the form of this photo set would seem to indicate that the Cayman may be getting the RS treatment as well.

The blazing orange Cayman S seen here has an expanded rear wing which is fixed in position, as well a set of splitters up front that would indicate an enhanced model. A Cayman RS would theoretically be stripped down for advanced performance on the track, perhaps even getting a mild bump in power in the process.

We’ll likely know for certain what exactly Porsche is up to after the Geneva Motor Show next March, and are free to let our imaginations wander in the meantime. Scroll down to read the shooter’s own words and check out the beefy Cayman in our gallery above.

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Caption:

1962 Porsche 804

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As the only American born Formula 1 Champion in history, Phil Hill place in racing’s pantheon is assured. The motorsports world sadly marked Hill’s passing yesterday, so we thought it only appropriate to further burnish his sterling reputation with a list of some of the finest motorcars Hill ever laid a booted foot to during his F1 career. Here then is a list of five of our favorite Phil Hill race cars, in no particular order.

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Purpose built to race in SCCA truck series events, Saleen was obliged to make 27 copies of this red-blooded Ranger to conform to homologation rules. Three of these Saleen Rangers went on to racing careers, with the remaining 24 trucks becoming among the rarest Saleen products of all time.

Now one of these rare beasts has come up for auction at eBay Motors, set to become the ultimate centerpiece in some lucky fast Ford collection. While still keeping its full-length bed, this 1988 Ranger has had a massive aero kit added on, as well as getting bodywork-matching white five-spoke alloy wheels, sport seats, and uprated suspension components. Strangely the 2.9-liter Ford V-6 was left untouched by the tuner’s hands, and is likely to offer less-than-inspired performance with its 140 horsepower.

Power deficit to the contrary, Saleen did have a good deal of success racing the Ranger, and this model’s tiny production run can only mean good things for its long-term value.

+ eBay Motors: 1988 Ford Mustang SALEEN TRUCK

Just after the new Corvette ZR1 lapped the Nürburgring in a record-setting 7:26.4, the Dodge Viper ACR has now been videotaped beating the Corvette's time by just over four seconds at 7:22.1.

Our friends at Motor Trend captured the whole thing on video, and while the time isn't one hundred percent official yet, it's hard not to believe when watching the ACR race 'round the 'Ring.

+ YouTube
+ Motor Trend

Audi, whose motorsports division has been a dominant presence in sports car racing for a decade, is set to put yet another feather in its racing cap. The German automaker has announced plans to offer a race-tuned GT3 version of its R8 sports car for customer purchase, and set to appear in action by next year.

Do you have over $100,000 to spend on a Corvette but don't want to give in to the hype of the fantastic new ZR1? Katech has the car for you. Based out of Clinton Township, Michigan, Katech has long been known for its high-performance engines and professional racing developments and Winding Road has had the opportunity to test one of its previous creations, the Street Attack Corvette Z06.

The new Corvette Z06 ClubSport incorporates an array of products in order to reduce the curb weight of the Z06 to a minimum of 2825 pounds (a reduction of over 260 pounds) while improving grip, cornering, braking, and downforce. All of this is done with the addition of a Brembo Gran Turismo brake kit, a double-adjustable Clubsport suspension, special wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, carbon-fiber air intake, performance exhaust, and twin-disc clutch.

Katech boasts this Z06 as a "Scuderia" or "Superleggera" variant even though engine output has not been tweaked. For a price of $109,000, we'd rather have the new ZR1, but this Z06 ClubSport is still a unique transformation for track-day Corvette enthusiasts.

Click through the post to read Katech's full press release.

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The round of 16 for our Next Autos Tiny Car GP tournament is now in the books, with a big day being had by teams Audi and Ferrari. After a three victories in the opening round of the Tiny Car battle, Lotus lost two competitors with the Esprit taking it on the chin from the longer, heavier RS6 Avant, and the spritely Elise 340R succumbing to the brilliantly green Mercury Cougar. The Lotus and Mercury provided the closest matchup of the day by far, with the first heat being so close that neither of our line judges could pick the first finisher, ultimately leading to a restart.

Team Lotus did uphold some of its pride in the second round pairings however, as the almost absurdly fast M250 was able to dispatch Honda’s last competitor with ease. The Opel Speedster was able to blank the Dodge Charger, two heats to none, as well. Good luck for Dodge then that it’s NASCAR-darling Charger Daytona was able to squeak by the vaunted Jaguar D-Type.

While we try to keep an emotional distance so as not to influence the outcome of the races, we have to admit that we were sorry to see the Buick Grand National served its walking papers by the victorious Audi R8, a worthy competitor to be sure. It’ll be Ferrari’s history P4 taking on the R8 in the next round.

We’ve got a gallery of the day’s racing action for you to enjoy above, and the promise of an even more outrageous round of action as we narrow the competition later this week.

http://www.funnyjunk.com/pages/insanity_test.htm

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Though it may look considerably sleeker and more purposeful than its unmodified Italian brothers, the car pictured in the photos above is at its heart a 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider. Appropriately dubbed “Bonnie” after the vast Bonneville Salt Flats where it earned its stripes, the car became the fastest full-bodied Alfa Romeo ever after recording a speed of 217.152 miles per hour in 2006.

Owner Richard Kreines and is Chicago-based race team are headed back to the salt during the week of August 18-24, hoping to take back their speed record in the Blown Gas Modified Sports category. Bonnie set the record in that class in 2002, only to see their top-speed destroyed by a Nissan-based team’s 221 mph run in 2006. This year the team is aiming for 230 mph and another entry into the record books.

Bonnie’s high speed magic is the result of a lot of hard work on the part of car builder Mike Besic and engine guru Jim Steck, both of whom have set records behind the wheel of the Spider as well.

For his part, owner Kreines seems confident about the blazing yellow Alfa’s chances this summer. “The car’s got three records,” said Kreines, “and we’ll get the other one back.”

Check out Bonnie and the boys in our gallery up top or scroll down to read the official press release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmuT5fgJhiM