Automobiles Review

Tag: Racing

Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept

At a press conference of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) at Circuit de la Sarthe in western France on June 9, Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Akio Toyoda revealed for the first time the hydrogen engine vehicle prototype “GR H2 Racing Concept”.

Developed with future competition in its sights, the prototype’s unveiling was spurred by a recent announcement by the ACO, the organizer of Le Mans 24 Hours, that it would allow hydrogen-engine vehicles to compete―in addition to fuel cell electric vehicles―in the race’s hydrogen category.

Speaking at the press conference, Toyoda congratulated the ACO on the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours (Le Mans) endurance race and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to hone cars through the race.

Toyota has been competing using a hydrogen-engine Corolla in the Super Taikyu Series since Round 3 of the 2021 season and raced the same car in the IDEMITSU 1500 SUPER ENDURANCE 2022 at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit in December 2022. By doing so, it has been honing its technologies in the harsh environment of motorsports and, with like-minded partners in and outside the automotive industry, accelerating its efforts for producing, transporting, and using hydrogen toward the realization of a carbon-neutral society. Toyota intends to further advance such efforts for making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and realizing a carbon-neutral society and it looks forward to taking on the challenge of a new generation of Le Mans 24 races.

“GR H2 Racing Concept” vehicle outline

Powertrain Hydrogen engine + Hybrid system

Dimensions Length (mm) 5,100 mm

Width (mm) 2,050 mm

June 12, 2023
Legendary Jaguar C-Type wins Monaco Historique

The legendary 1952 Jaguar C-Type won the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, Serie C for Pre-1953 Sports Prototypes. Behind the steering wheel was the driver Alex Buncombe, thank to him the prestigious FIA sanctioned race was won.

In particular, the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is one of the most popular and broadly appreciated “historic” racings around the world. This is the 8th running of the FIA sanctioned event, and generally it occurs two weeks before the F1 Grand Prix.

However, more importantly, the actual race winning 1952 C-type has an interesting history. The first owner of the legend was Juan Manuel Fangio, who bought it directly from the Jaguar factory. The car then was carefully prepared by the team and mechanics of Jaguar, In order to be in perfect condition and to take part in the race.

The driver Alex Buncombe himself has even commented how super quick the C-Type was and in fact that in his opinion this was the best C-type in the world.

Another highlight is that this is also a debut for the Jaguar brand in this race. And the result as we see is a superb achievement.

The next event for Jaguar Heritage Racing is the legendary Mille Miglia in Italy. It will start on 16th of May (Thursday), so stay tuned!

Legendary Jaguar C-Type at Monaco Historique

Legendary Jaguar C-Type at Monaco Historique

Source: Jaguar

May 15, 2012
2012 Lexus LFA Sportscar Equipped With Nuerburgring Package

2012 Lexus LFA Sportscar is the other car that has just been announced to take part in the Nuerburgring Racing along with Toyota 86.

The car is equipped especially for the racing with a specific Nuerburgring Package. Form this special edition of Lexus, are produced only 50 examples which are already prepared to be sold.

In particular, the vehicle is in orange body finish and includes the contrasting black interior.

But what is more important is that this car is unmatched in its track-focused performance and hand-crafted quality.

As a basis for this model are used the speed and handling of the Lexus LFA. Nevertheless the Nürburgring Package adds further a number of elements which enhance the downforce for sharper circuit performance.

2012 Lexus LFA Sportscar With Nuerburgring Package

In details, it features a front spoiler made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic, a strong and lightweight advanced composite material, plus special mesh-type wheels with dedicated, high-grip tyres to improve manoeuvrability and stability.

More importantly, the car is equipped with the 4.8-litre V10 engine, form which it draws maxim power of 562bhp (420kW). This means that the LFA accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.7-second. The tops speed is 202 mph (325 km/h).

2012 Lexus LFA Sportscar With Nuerburgring Package

Source: Lexus

April 13, 2012
Toyota 86 takes part in 24 Hours Nuerburgring endurance race

Toyota 86 is the new sports car produced by the brand and on which a lot of expectations are put. The car will make its Australian debut in June this year.

However the vehicle will take part in very serious racing a month before its first appearance.

Toyota just announced that not only one but two of the 86 sports cars examples are going to compete in 24 Hours Nuerburgring endurance race. The racing will take place in May.

In details, the racing cars are currently in preparation for the big event. The care for this is provided by Toyota’s partner GAZOO Racing. The goal is to reach and support a new generation of car admirers all over the globe.

In addition, GAZOO Racing team will include a unique feature. In particular it is that it will include Toyota’s in-house employees as drivers and mechanics for the race.

The underlying reason for this participation is the goal of the brand, which is to make advanced vehicles which will satisfy enthusiasts and promote the joy of driving.

The 40th running of the 24 Hours Nrburgring will be held from May 17 to 20.

Toyota 86

Source: Toyota

April 13, 2012
Angry Birds will race on Formula 1

Do you know that funny little wingless cartoon birds. Well if you do, you are probably fan of the popular game “Angry Birds”. And more importantly we have some really good news for you. If you are looking forward to this year’s Formula 1 and are addicted to this particular game, then you will see some characters from the game onto the racing track. Till the present, maybe Formula 1 was one of those few areas where we couldn’t see our favourite characters. Nevertheless, recently the Finish company Rovio announced their newly signed contract with the Formula 1 racer Heikki Kovalainen. The Finnish god of the racing-track will wear a helmet, which was especially ornated with the logo of “Angry Birds” and in addition is designed to look just as the red wingless bird from the game. Actually, the Finnish F1 star has already debuted wearing this helmet on this weekend’s inaugural Formula 1 race in Melbourne, Australia. Furthermore Kovalainen seems to be a big fan of the game, and shares that given this fact and since he is Finn (as the funny characters are) he would be proud to wear the helmet.

Heikki Kovalainen Angry Birds Helmet

In details, Rovio is a Finnish based entertainment company, which became extremely popular with the launch of the above mentioned game. It is a casual puzzle game, which catches the attention with its unique cartoon characters. Moreover, it became an international phenomenon in just one year since its release and currently is number one paid application of all time.

Pictures Source: Heikki Kovalainen Official Web Page

March 18, 2012
2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Dodge Charger to compete in NASCAR

SRT Motorsports has just showed the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Dodge Charger that will compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). What the designers basically did is to expertly incorporate the Dodge Charger Features into the racing version. From the beginning they have worked in collaboration with NASCAR. From NASCAR they got all the basic specifications. However, the manufacturers also wanted a new look of to venture beyond the look of the current race car. The design and engineering group of Dodge transformed the Dodge Charger street version into the race car. In fact, the Dodge Charger street car is the only rear-wheel-drive model in Sprint Cup competition that is available with a V-8 engine. In addition, NASCAR eased rules on where manufacturers could put glass and solid body pieces. That freed designers and engineers to make the “greenhouse,” the area above the doors, hood and truck lid, more closely resemble production cars. Rules were also made lighter for the front and rear, and especially the sides, allowing the character lines that come directly from the street car. The 2013 Dodge Charger race car design is a great example of what the public is looking forward to seeing on the race track. In conclusion, 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Dodge Charger is a product which will be easily identifiable on the track without compromise in the area of competition.

2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Dodge Charger

Source: Dodge

March 13, 2012
2011 JM Cardesign Mini One R50

This Mini One R50 undeniably could win innumerable cups thank to its unique design. The latter is made by the talented creatives from JM Cardesign. The company from Bergheim is responsible for turning the mini from a serial car to a motorsport look show car. Moreover it has huge range of modifications and detail improvements!

First of all in the fascia of the MINI JM Cardesign integrated with the characteristic air inlet motor hood (which is usual for its big compressor brother Cooper S and its side indicator lights, including the red “S”). Furthermore a very special upgrade was made on the doors: with the LSD hinges installed by JM Cardesign, they now open upwards. In addition the company included as wee racing style side sills which are located below. Above the tail windscreen, there is a carbon tail wing of the series spear tip “John Cooper Works”. And as you can see, the car looks very similarly to a racing car form the mini cup. This effect is due to the many decals which were applied to the body.

Unfortunately, if you expect that with this car you can participate in racing competitions, well – you will be disappointed. This car is a show vehicle rather than a racing one. This means that the 1.6 litre four-cylinder motor was not changed, and still has an output of 90 HP (66 kW). However with its special exhaust system from the cat, the small motor will pretend successfully that it had at least twice its actual output.

2011 JM CarDesign Mini One R50

Another detail which probably reminds you for the racetrack is the white-painted CR Kai light metal wheel rims from Work Wheels. The Bergheim tuner combined the 7.5×18-inch racing look one-part wheel rims with Dunlop rubbers in 215/35ZR18. And if you wonder whether there’s something improved behind the wheels, this time you will be content to hear that there are perforated Brembo braking discs that look decorative while also enhancing the deceleration performance. And the perfect road adhesion of the mini, was achieved by installing an H&R threaded chassis. Between the two front strut towers, a red Wiechers bar was installed to improve stiffness.

The interior of the One is also made in racing style. For instance there are two Recaro pole position shell seats, which are placed in the white Wiechers roll cage, securing passengers with 3.5 inch wide Schroth-4-point belts. To match the car body great parts of the dashboard cover were painted in the car’s colour and decorated with decals. In the current modification of the MINI the back seat was removed, and an original mini cup racing tank is placed behind the back of the roll cage. In addition, the mini was given a basic multimedia system in the form of a Clarion-Head unit with Flip-Monitor and connected reversing camera.

Source: JM CarDesign

December 22, 2011

Powertrain		Hydrogen engine + Hybrid system
Dimensions	Length (mm)	5,100 mm
Dimensions	Width (mm)	2,050 mm