Watch Four Stooges Cross the Pikes Peak Course Moments Before Loeb’s Peugeot Flew By

Being a spectator at a rally or hill climb event is not a hard thing to do. As a basic rule, you just have to listen to your survival instincts and everything will be all right. Needless to say, of all the stupid actions a spectator can do, crossing the course or standing on the road at the wrong time is the most dangerous. Read more »

Matt Farah Walks Us Through Canepa Design’s Amazing Collection of Classics

Canepa Designs specializes in restoring classic cars, including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari and Shelby models, to name but a few, as well as racing cars from these and other manufacturers. They also have their own collection of privately-restored automobiles, which contains many interesting models, which they either rebuilt or imported. Read more »

Watch Sebastien Loeb’s Pikes Peak Record Run from Inside the Peugeot 208 T16

We know that you have been waiting for this since news broke out that Sebastien Loeb shattered the previous record (dating from 2012) of the world’s most famous hillclimb race in the monstrous 875HP Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak. After all, it’s not every day that we see a Pikes Peak record being broken by more than one minute and a half!

The following onboard video of the stunning 8 minute and 13.878 second climb may help us understand how that was possible. Although when you combine one of rallying’s most successful world champions ever and a car that boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 1hp/kg, it’s not very difficult to imagine such an outcome.

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Sebastian Loeb Obliterates Pikes Peak Record and Wins with 8:13.878 [w/Video]

In motorsport, progress is usually very incremental, and its fruits translate into tenths or even hundredths of a second gained. However, while that statement may stand true when it comes to the conventional types of motorsport, doing the annual Pikes Peak hillclimb is like successfully completing a fast and consistent lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife - a very special achievement, and therefore the normal rules don’t apply.

For instance, this year, "newcomer" Sebastien Loeb managed to win by shaving more than a minute and a half off last year’s 9:46.164 time, set by Rhys Millen!

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Check Out This Featurette for the Upcoming "Rush" Movie

After having seen our fair share of mediocre and bad car- and motorsports-related films, we were wondering whether the genre was getting a star any time soon. Then “Rush” came along, promising a well-documented dramatization of the 1976 Formula 1 championship, and more specifically, the personal battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, who raced for Ferrari and McLaren respectively. Read more »

Mark Webber Leaves F1 to Join Porsche’s Le Mans Team from 2014

Mark Webber has signed a contract with Porsche for “several years” to drive the German carmaker's new LMP1 sports prototype at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Australian will leave the Infiniti Red Bull Racing at the end of this season. Read more »

Tesla Model S Driver Tries Willow Springs Track Day

Electric cars may not be the most adrenaline-inducing to watch on a race track, but they sure are effective, especially over short set distances like Pikes Peak, where the change in altitude gives them real purpose – all-electrics produce peak power regardless of how high you are from sea level. Read more »

Radical to Premiere RXC Coupe with 380HP Mustang V6 at the Salon Privé [w/Video]

Radical will showcase its new RXC sports car for the first time at the Salon Privé in London (September 4-6, 2013). The company's first ever enclosed car, the RXC is said to mark a new step in the development of the brand, by bringing Le Mans engineering and aerodynamics to the road. Radical promises that the RXC delivers “incredible performance whilst remaining easy to own.” Read more »

Citroën to Enter FIA WTCC from 2014 with Sébastien Loeb

Following an extremely successful period in the World Rally Championship, Citroën will try its luck on a different type of competition starting next year. The French carmaker has announced that it will enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) from 2014, with Sébastien Loeb being the first confirmed driver of the works team. Read more »

Audi E-Tron Quattro Triumphs at Le Mans [w/Videos]

This year’s edition of the Le Mans 24H race will not necessarily be remembered for the actual racing part, because it has been marred by the tragic death of Aston Martin driver Allan Simonsen, 34. Still, even after the announcement of his passing, the Aston Martin team drove on, eventually taking third place in the GTE Pro class, dedicating their victory to Simonsen who was racing in the GT class. Read more »

Aston Martin's Danish Driver Allan Simonsen Dies in Le Mans Crash

For most of us, motor racing is something we experience from the side of the track, looking on into the distance waiting for the cars to come by, then almost snapping your neck as you look the other way trying to keep them in view for as long as possible… Far fewer of us ever get the chance to race at the highest echelons, and those that do, are considered fortunate.

Sadly, it is a line of work with among the most dangerous in the world, and now it has taken its toll yet again, this time claiming the life 34 year-old Danish driver Allan Simonsen, who was involved in a crash close to the start of this year’s Le Mans 24H race (around 10 minutes in).

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Renault Details 2014 F1 1.6-Liter V6 Turbo Unit: 760 HP, 35 Percent More Fuel-Efficient

Starting with the 2014 season, Formula 1 regulations shift drastically, and the most significant change is the switch from 2.4-liter normally aspirated V8 engines to 1.6-liter direct-injected turbocharged V6 units.

Renault is the first F1 engine manufacturer to present the new power unit, officially named Energy F1-2014 to reflect synergies with the fuel-efficient Energy engine used in its road cars. The 1.6-liter V6 engine is fitted with energy recovery systems that increase efficiency by harvesting energy dissipated as heat in the exhaust or brakes.

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Nissan Unveils ZEOD RC Le Mans Prototype, Confirms It’s All-Electric, Skimps on Other Details

We knew, thanks to a couple of teasers released by Nissan, that their electrified Le Mans prototype was set to be shown today. However, up until this point, it had not been confirmed what sort of powerplant would motivate this new racing car. Now that photos and information have been released, we realize that more questions are raised than answered, and aside from the confirmation that the ZEOD RC is all-electric, not much information was shared.

There’s a lot of testing to be done as the car, which will reportedly be able to exceed 300 km/h or 186 mph, will make its debut at next year’s edition of the famed French racing venue.

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SRT Presents the Viper GT3-R Customer Race Car, Could Be Yours for $459,000

This weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans is a special one for U.S. fans, as it marks the Viper’s return to the world’s most famous endurance race. In 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Viper GTS-R won its class at Le Mans, so the bar is set at the highest possible point for the its return to the French classic. Read more »

New Mitsubishi Outlander and Lancer EVO X Assume Safety Car Role at Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Mitsubishi is showing that it still has a few drops of racing fuel in its tank –or so to speak, as it will supply the official safety vehicles, in addition to participating in this year’s 91st running of the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), which will be held on June 30. Read more »

How Many Quarter-Mile Races Can the Tesla Model S Do On One Charge?

Fears regarding the Tesla Model S’ one-charge range don’t only concern the more eco-minded drivers who are set to achieve the maximum range out of it, because those with a faster driving style who also happen to like racing the classic quarter mile also have to be catered for.

Now, the crew over at DragTimes wanted to know how many 400-meter drag races can be performed with a full battery and good weather conditions.

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Watch What It's Like to Drive Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for 3 Days and 1,000 Miles

While the Bugatti Veyron is the absolute superlative of car ownership, the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse can only be the…superlative of the superlative. With 1,200PS (compared to “just” 1,001PS in the regular Veyron) and the option of open-top driving, the Vitesse is the fastest roadster in the world, as it can reach 410 km/h (255mph). Furthermore, the massive 8-liter W16 engine catapults the car from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in a mere 2.6 seconds. Read more »

Seat Releases Making-Of Video of Its 330PS Leon Cup Racer

Following the reveal of the Leon Cup Racer at the 2013 Wörthersee Tour, Seat has released a video showing how the customer sport racecar is built. The car will soon have the license to race, with the first customer sport teams expected to enter the car at various events starting with the 2014 motorsport season. Read more »

Volvo to Enter Australia's V8 Supercars Championship in 2014 [w/Video]

Volvo announced on Monday that it will have an official Volvo Polestar Racing taking part in the 2014 season of Australia's V8 Supercars Championship. Two Volvo S60 V8 Supercars will be entered in the series that starts next year.

Volvo Car Australia will join forces with Volvo Car Group's global motorsport partner Polestar and the V8 Supercars team Garry Rogers Motorsport, forming Volvo Polestar Racing Australia.

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Nissan Announces Intention to "Electrify Le Mans" with Race Car Teaser

Electrification has begun to seep into motor racing, and for some particular races, an EV presents genuine advantages over an internal-combustion-powered vehicle – Pikes Peak, for instance. There’s even an all-electric series called Formula E, which is already stirring up a bit of interest.

However, even the classic forms of motorsport have been affected, and the 2014 Le Mans race will be featuring an entry from Nissan, which is preparing its electrified race car as we speak – they are set to reveal it on June 21.

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