Lexus LFA Loses to Ferrari 458 Italia in C&D's 2013 Lightning Lap Test

It's a fact that Nürburgring lap times have become something of a standard when it comes to comparing sports cars’ performance. Car & Driver magazine decided that it was impractical to conduct its annual Lightning Lap event in Germany as they had 20 cars to test, so its editors chose the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) as the U.S. equivalent of the ‘Ring.

While the 4.1-mile long track is one-third of the Nordschleife, it features more than 30 turns and elevation changes and, according to C&D, it makes for a demanding venue in which to test each car to its limits.

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Lamborghini Launches New 2013MY Gallardo GT3 FL2 Racer

For quite some time, Lamborghini has not officially engaged in motorsport except for the one-make Super Trofeo series. Now, the Sant’ Agata-based supercar maker has announced a new racer and a five-year long motorsport program.

The Gallardo GT3 FL2 is based on the recently revamped MY2013 Gallardo and has been created in cooperation with Reiter Engineering, the German outfit that has developed its own racing versions of Lamborghini models since 2000 netting 199 victories and 350 podium finishes.

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Celebrities to Race New Mazda6 on the Sidelines of the 2013 F1 Australian GP

As part of a large-scale promotion for the launch of the new Mazda6 in Australia, the Japanese carmaker is organizing the star-packed Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge, which will take place during the 2013 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in the middle of March.

Mazda said it plans to have 20 "big name celebrities" behind the wheels of an equal number of cars, each of which will come in different body and racing livery colors.

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MINI Wins 2013 Dakar, Race2Recovery Disability Team Makes it to the Finish [w/Video]

After 8,570 km (5,437 miles) of grueling roads, Stephane Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret crossed the finish line of the 2013 Dakar rally at Santiago de Chile first. It was the second consecutive win for the MINI ALL4 Racing and the record 11th Dakar victory for Peterhansel (his fifth with a car, the other six being with motorcycles), who took the lead after the second stage and remained there until the end.

A second MINI, with Leonid Novitskiy and Konstandin Zhiltsov, finished the race third behind the Toyota HiLux of Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz, while a third MINI, driven by Nanni Roma and Michel Perin, followed in fourth place just 8 minutes behind them.

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New VW Polo R WRC Takes Second Place in its First Competitive Outing at Monte Carlo

Multiple world champion Sebastian Loeb of Citroen may have grabbed another win at the opening round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship at Monte Carlo, but it was Sébastien Ogier and the all-new VW Polo WRC that made the biggest impression.

The 29-year-old French rally driver managed to lead the Polo R WRC in its first competitive outing to second place. The third place on the podium went to Dani Sordo, who returned to Citroen after two seasons with MINI, which pulled out of the championship at the end of last year.

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New Audi RS7 Sportback Envisioned as a Ferocious Group B Rally Car

The spanking new Audi RS7 Sportback is one of our favorite cars from the ongoing Detroit Auto Show.

With a sleek-looking body and a masculine 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 pumping out more than 550-horses to all four wheels, what's not to like? Well, you could say its price tag, which will certainly be more than the $78,800 Audi commands for the 420hp S7 Sportback, but that's another story.

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Porsche’s 917/20 “Pink Pig” Le Mans Racer is a Tasty Piece of History

Racing cars that don’t win races are quickly forgotten even by their own creators. Winners make history, second is the first loser: that’s the way it’s always been. Surely, nobody remembers a Le Mans contender that didn’t even make it to the finish line, right?

That may be true for most cars but not for Porsche’s 917. The brainchild of current VW Group supremo Ferdinand Piech, it is deeply etched in racing history not only for giving Porsche its first-ever victory at La Sarthe in 1970, followed by another one the next year but also because it starred in Steve McQueen’s 1971 Le Mans film.

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McLaren Updates MP4-12C GT3 Racer for 2013, WRC Champion Loeb to Compete in FIA GT

Non-motorsport fans may overlook racing versions of sports cars but the fact is, they make for a very lucrative business for automakers that, naturally, are very happy to put some effort into them.

Like Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, McLaren has developed a GT3-spec variant of its MP4-12C supercar that was supplied to 13 customer teams last year. In its inaugural season, the 12C GT3 took part in 98 separate events, mostly in Europe, and claimed 19 victories and a further 19 podium finishes.

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NAIAS 2013: Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Grand-Am Diesel-Powered Racer

When Audi wanted to showcase its TDI diesel technology, it chose to compete in the 2006 Le Mans 24-hour race with a diesel-powered prototype. It was a risky move, as the R10 TDI replaced the all-conquering gasoline-powered R8 that had five straight wins under its belt. The success of the R10, and later the R15, proved that Audi was right. Read more »

Caterham Launches a New and Affordable Kart Championship for Teens

British parents looking to introduce their youngsters to the marvelous world of motorsports have a new option in the guise of Caterman's low-cost karting championship at the heart of which is the CK-01 kart, a prototype of which is on display at the AutoSport International at Birmingham’s NEC from January 10 to 13. Read more »