Autoblog

Rumors have been circulating for almost a year that Nissan plans to campaign the GT-R in several different series outside of SuperGT, including the Grand Am championship and the 24 Hours of LeMans. Japan's Best Car magazine supposedly has it on good authority that Nissan is developing a road-going model of the LeMans competition car that will carry an "LM Edition" badge and be sold in limited numbers.

According to the Japanese pub, the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V6 will be putting out approximately 600 hp and will be equipped with upgraded brakes, lightweight wheels, a beefed up transmission and reworked suspension components, in addition to a new aero kit to increase downforce.

Nissan has produced several limited edition models of each generation of the Skyline GT-R before, including an LM Edition of the R33 that campaigned in LeMans in the late 90s. One good turn deserves another, and with 600 hp under the hood, things are bound to get interesting both on the track and on the street.

[Source: BestCar via Carscoop]

Click the image above for a gallery of high-res images of the DB9 LM.

It's obvious that Aston Martin's new owners are proud of the marque's racing heritage, particularly its recent outings in both the Nürburgring and LeMans 24-hour enduros. Like the N400, the DB9 LM is a tribute to Aston's victories, but this time, it's for an outright class win in the Le Mans race this past June. More a showpiece rather than an outright racer, the LM gets a revised exterior that includes a Sarthe Silver paint job, new mesh treatments in the front grille, and red calipers. On the inside, the Tertre Rough trim may be a bit much to discerning eyes, but we're sure it'll find favor with the nouveau riche. However, the individually numbered sill plaques and LeMans-track badging bring things back to class and let all who enter understand that they're sitting in something special.

There are more pics for you viewing enjoyment below, so click on.

If for no other reason, love these cars for the utter straightforward simplicity of their name – they are exactly what they're called: Radical. While many sports car manufacturers claim the mantle as their own, few follow the creed of "racing car for the road" quite so faithfully as Radical, the small British outfit that produces track-day specials like the SR8. They may be certified for road use, but few concessions have been made towards comfort or usability. These cars are meant to be driven to the track and back home again.

As if its previous offerings weren't fast enough, Radical has now unveiled its latest race car for the road: the SR8LM. The LM designation should give you a clue in case the picture doesn't say it all. It's built to offer Le Mans prototype levels of performance to anyone with the means. While the "ordinary" SR8 is powered by a 360-hp Powertec-modified superbike engine from the Suzuki Hayabusa, bored out from 1.3-liters to 2.8 and designated RPA, the SR8LM gets the revised RPB powerplant pumping out a whopping 455 horses and revving to an atmospheric 10,500-rpm redline. The engine is mated to Radical's paddle-operated Powertec P-tec transaxle and PS1 pneumatic shifter that have been engineered for foot-to-the-floor upshifts and automatically blips the throttle on the way back down.

While we don't have performance stats just yet, Radical claims the new £89,000 SR8LM will keep pace with actual Le Mans prototype race cars. That's quite a claim, but considering that the previous 360hp SR8 already holds the record for fastest street-legal car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife at 6' 55", that may not be so far-fetched.

(Press release after the jump.)

[Source: Radical]

It sounds so absurd it hardly seems worth entertaining. But it seemed just as unlikely for diesel-powered prototype-class race cars to dominate at Le Mans until Audi did just that. Now Peugeot is following suit with its own high-tech, state-of-the-art diesel race car, the 908 LM, which the French company hopes can do for them what the R10 did for Audi. With over 700 horsepower from an all-aluminum 5.5-liter twelve-cylinder common-rail direct-injection twin-turbo diesel (try saying that three times fast), the sleek cat just might.

Marc Gené came to a different conclusion after driving the 908 for the first time, though: "Having driven the Peugeot, I think that diesel is a feasible route for F1 in the future." Gené is joining the Peugeot team at Le Mans right after he re-signed as a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari, but with a limit on testing imposed by the FIA, he has a little more time on his hands.

Diesels still bear a certain lethargic stigma, but with modern diesel technology seemingly getting closer to gasoline engines with every passing day, some see it as only a matter of time. It would take a massive change in regulation by the FIA, but it would certainly make previous rule-changes like the abolishment of turbos and the switch to V8s seem like mere footnotes in motorsport history.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

The prospect of a new Lamborghini sport-ute is enough to send the automotive press scurrying for details and even credible speculation. Last month, we brought you a report based on spy shots of a disguised Porsche Cayenne that was thought to be a possible Lambo test mule. Now our friends over at Info Motori have issued a few renderings of what they think a future Lamborghini truck should look like.

Follow the jump for more info and the Read link for more renderings and details.

[Source: Info Motori]

The Ferrari F40 is a legend among supercars – the yardstick against which all other supercars are measured. Imagine then what would happen if you took what was essentially a racing car for the road and re-tuned it for the track. Now open your eyes and gaze upon the Ferrari F40 GTE by Michelotto.

Long before Prodrive ran race-prepped 550 Maranellos in endurance races and Mercedes co-opted AMG as their in-house performance division, Michelotto was the tuning house to which Ferrari looked to prepare its road cars for competition. Michelotto, then, was (and remains) far more than an ordinary aftermarket tuner – they are the go-fast consultants for the fastest in the business. To help develop their first supercar, the 288 GTO, Ferrari turned to Michelotto, who in turn prepared the ultra-rare 288 GTO Evoluzione, the F40's precursor. Ferrari called on Michelotto again to help develop the F40 a few years later. Who better, then, to prep the supercar for the track than its creators? The resulting GTE (along with the F40 GT and LM variants) was to the F40 what the FXX and the Maserati MC12 are to the Enzo: the pinnacle of performance, pumped up with steroids.

This example from Germany failed to sell on eBay Motors with a buy-it-now price of $658,300, and didn't meet the reserve price after getting a top bid of $325,300. While the buy-it-now price seems a tad steep, the top bid comes up a little short for the $400,000 minimum these cars usually fetch, depending on their racing history.

More pics after the jump!