Supercars - page 36

My Instagram feed rarely disappoints, and today, it seriously delivered. Jonny Lieberman from MotorTrend.com dropped a bombshell on Instagram from what appears to be a private event: The twin mad scientists and automotive designers, Iliya & Nikita Bridan behind California-based Oil Stain Lab are going to build 25 limited-edition examples of an ultra-lightweight mid-engined hypercar and they’re calling it the HF-11.

Ah!! Porsche and online racing, while I may not be much of a gamer these days, this is an experience that goes back decades for me. My PC gaming journey began with the legendary NFS: Porsche Unleashed back in 2000. That game got me hooked, even leading me to compete professionally! So, when Ubisoft unveiled the Porsche 919 Street tearing up the tarmac in The Crew Motorfest’s latest trailer, I was undoubtedly curious to learn more. (Mark your calendars: Crew Motorfest Year 2 update kicks off November 6th, 2024!)

Strap yourselves in, gearheads, because a piece of automotive and cinematic history will soon hit the auction block, and it’s gonna make your wallet weep. Remember that #20 Porsche 917k that stole the show in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans? Yeah, the one with the screaming flat-12 and the Gulf Oil livery so good it should be illegal? That very car, chassis number 917-022, is getting ready to trade hands in January 2025 at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction.

After a year of spy shots and whispers about what was brewing in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Lamborghini Huracán’s successor has finally arrived: the Temerario. This isn’t just another V8 hybrid, folks. We’re talking a 907-horsepower, plug-in hybrid supercar with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 developed in-house by Lamborghini. It features a flat-plane crankshaft, that revs up to an astonishing 10,000 RPM. Now, it wasn’t long ago that Porsche too announced its juicy T-Hybrid system with the 992.2 911 Carrera GTS that packs an electrified turbocharger and an electric motor in the gearbox, but no plug-in option, making it a mild hybrid.

Two of the hottest hybrid sports cars right now are the all-new Lamborghini Temerario and the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, which launched back in late May. Both VW Group brands have been pushing the boundaries of performance thanks to clever electrification strategies, showcasing the best of internal combustion engines and electric powertrains. Hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly popular over fully electric vehicles and even traditional, internal-combustion-powered vehicles, meaning we will be seeing a lot more of them in the foreseeable future. That said, Porsche and Lamborghini have very different approaches to hybrid sports cars. Lamborghini goes for big power and multiple electric motors while Porsche seems to be keeping things more down to earth with its first production 911 hybrid. That said, we know a 992.2 Turbo S is coming, and it’ll undoubtedly be quicker than the 992.2 GTS. Lamborghini’s new hybrid Temerario and Porsche’s efforts in hybrid propulsion tell us a lot about the upcoming Turbo S, and here’s what we can expect.

Porsche has a long tradition of participating in the annual Monterey Car Week. One of the biggest car events on the automotive calendar. It dates back to 1950 when it was held for the first time, as a supplementary event to the Pebble Beach Road Race. Like other automakers, Porsche’s iconic sports cars were an expected sight at the Monterey Car Week, and this year, we got to see a great number of highly original, reimagined, and downright crazy builds, based on Porsche’s greatest sports cars ever made.

The Tuthill GT One recently made a grand entrance at the 2024 Monterey Car Week, turning heads and leaving everyone drooling. The GT One isn’t just some run-of-the-mill 911 with a fresh coat of paint and a wide body; it’s a reimagined masterpiece, channeling the spirit of Porsche’s legendary 911 GT1 race car with a modern twist.

Porsche and Lamborghini are both under Volkswagen Group ownership and yet, what the two brands do with their sports cars has little to do with the mother company’s resources. Sure, the more mainstream models may rely heavily on VAG tech, but both sports car manufacturers do their own thing when it comes to their range-topping, high-performance models. Lamborghini recently introduced the Temerario – the company’s second hybrid model after the flagship Revuelto. Porsche also recently introduced hybrid powertrains to the 911, with the 992.2, mid-cycle refresh.

While the Monterey Car Week has already witnessed its fair share of automotive showstoppers, few have dared to redefine the custom aftermarket genre quite like the Kalmar 9X9 and the Tuthill GT1 this year. While the 911 restomod scene is quite mature, this trend is now extending to other iconic models from the Porsche stable. Kalmar Automotive based out of Denmark, is calling their latest creation, the "world’s first retro hypercar," a bold statement that perfectly captures the essence of this beast. Inspired by legendary cars of the past like the over-engineered 959 owing to that distinctive fixed rear wing, the 9X9 blends classic aesthetics and cutting-edge performance.

U.K.-based Tuthill unveils the GT One, a carbon fiber supercar inspired by the iconic Porsche 911 GT1. Porsche created the 911 GT1 Straßenversion (Street Version) as the homologated variant of their GT1 Class racecar back in the late ’90s. Only 22 examples of the GT One are planned to be made. Tuthill Porsche, a legendary name in Porsche restorations and rally racing, is branching out to create their custom projects and collaborations with another well-known brand associated with Porsche - Singer Automotive.

A Porsche 911 that bears an uncanny resemblance to the rare 993 GT1 has sent shockwaves through the automotive world. Spotted at Los Angeles airport, the car’s identity remains shrouded in mystery. Is it a one-off Porsche project or a custom build by a tuning house? Speculation is rife, with names like Singer, Ruf, MP Gemballa, RML, and Unofficial Machines tossed into the mix. However, the most compelling evidence points towards Tuthill Porsche, a British firm renowned for its work on classic 911s.

We’re just a few days away from the Monterey Car Week and I have my radar on a few cars this year. One that caught my attention is this 1985 Porsche 959 (Vorserie), being auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s. Now the 959 is already pretty rare and special, but this particulate example was owned by the great, Dr.Ferdinand Piëch, Ferdinand Porsche’s grandson, who headed the Volkswagen Group for close to twenty years. Pïech of course was a key figure not just in Porsche motorsports but was also instrumental in reshaping the Volkswagen group along with bringing several noteworthy brands like Bugatti, Bentley, and Lamborghini under the VW umbrella. For those unaware, Porsche built several prototypes of the 959. Dubbed “V5KOM” or V5, this example is one of just five surviving Vorserie (V-Series) prototypes.