Nother CarGuy

Porsche is gearing up to introduce the 2020 Taycan next week, but that’s not the only electric vehicle in the company’s stable. Unveiled earlier today, the 99X Electric marks Porsche’s entry into the exciting world of Formula E. Porsche has hopes for the model as they said its name uses the ‘9’ twice to emphasize the “importance of the Formula E project” for the company. The automaker also said the race car will serve as a development platform for future production electric vehicles. On the styling front, there isn’t much to report as the car largely echoes the competition. However, the company applied a traditional Porsche motorsport livery which features black, white and red. The model also has prominent Porsche badging as well as labels promoting everything from Hugo Boss to Vodafone. Porsche noted Formula E regulations stipulate a standardized chassis and battery, but the drive system is left up to manufactures. As a result, the company developed a special E-Perfor...

There are one-off Ferrari projects and then there’s the new P80/C. Ferrari spent almost four years developing this unique track car — the longest time of any Ferrari one-off made to date. That’s because the company took a different approach than with its one-off cars in the past, with the P80/C being the result of in-depth styling research, lengthy engineering development, as well as “scrupulous aerodynamic testing.” Commissioned by TK, an unnamed customer Ferrari describes as “a great connoisseur of the Ferrari world,” the P80/C is an entirely new and modern take on the Ferrari sports prototype concept. The client’s brief was to create a modern sports prototype inspired by two iconic models from Ferrari’s history: the 330 P3/P4 and the 1966 Dino 206 S. That was no easy task for the Ferrari Styling Centre because it had to develop a new kind of product that did not exist in the current lineup. More specifically, it had to design a sports prototype inspired by cars that esse...

The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, will serve as the location for the second race of the next IndyCar Series on March 24, 2019. Organizers for the series had been searching for a replacement for the ISM Raceway in Phoenix and have settled on COTA. The circuit measures 3.427 miles (5.499 km) and will be the second longest track on the IndyCar calendar. The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix has been held at the Circuit of the Americas since 2012 and the track has consistently delivered some thrilling races. “COTA is one of the finest motor sports facilities in the world, and Austin is a happening city. This a natural fit for the IndyCar Series,” IndyCar chief executive Mark Miles said. “We love the Austin market. I think it’s going to love IndyCar. The Circuit of the Americas and (track chairman) Bobby (Epstein) and his team I think are compelling ingredients to long-term success, so I hope that IndyCar is there for many, many years to come.” The addition of COTA...

Following a report earlier this year, Toyota has announced plans to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a new Supra-inspired race car. Set to enter competition on February 16th, the model was jointly developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) USA and Calty Design Research. The race car has little in common with the upcoming production model and Toyota noted “TRD and Calty scaled [the] Supra to fit within NASCAR’s specifications for race vehicle entries in the NXS.” While the two models will be quite different, a number of Supra styling cues carryover to the race car thanks to an extensive wrap. It features three large air intakes which reside below slender LED headlights and a protruding nose. The production-inspired styling continues out back as the car has been equipped with slender taillights and a rear bumper that mimics the road-going model. The latter features a center-mounted third brake light which is flanked by a dual exhaust system. The Supra will replac...

Revealed at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona is the EPCS V2.3 Tesla P100DL – the new race-ready version of the Model S that will form the basis of the Electric Production Car Series. The electric powertrain seems to have been altered slightly to produce 778 horsepower (585 kW) and 734 lb-ft (995 Nm) of torque. With the cockpit stripped out for competition, the organizers say it’ll run to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.1 seconds and top out at 250 km/h (155 mph). As you can see from the pictures, the bodywork seems to have been modified as well, with blistered wheel arches and a racing-spec aero kit to help keep the car glued to the track through the corners. A full grid of these cars will be deployed in a 10-race season. Rounds will be held in Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Portugal, with the last race to be held at the end of October 2019 at Vallelunga on the outskirts of Rome. The series will be supported by an electric karting championship and an e...

Had enough of Formula One? Check out Formula E. That goes not only for fans, but for drivers too. And now another former Grand Prix pilot is making his way to the electric racing series. Not just any driver, either: we’re talking about Felipe Massa. Arguably one of the top drivers in recent F1 history, the Brazilian has won no fewer than eleven F1 grands prix. And he came close – really close – to winning the championship in 2008, when he narrowly lost to Lewis Hamilton by just a single point. That wasn’t the only time he finished near the top of the standings, either. He placed third in 2006 behind Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, and fourth in 2007 after Kimi Raikkonen (plus Hamilton and Alonso). Over the course of his career, he amassed an impressive 1,167 championship points. Now, having ended his sixteen-year-long career in F1 with Williams, he’s signed on with the Venturi team to drive in Formula E starting next season. The deal is for three years, so suffice it t...

Following a lengthy teaser campaign, Brabham Automotive has finally unveiled the new BT62. Designed specifically as a track-only supercar, the BT62 is undeniably aggressive as it has a carbon fiber body with front fender vents and aerodynamic side skirts. The car has also been equipped with a massive front splitter, a large rear wing and a center-mounted dual exhaust system. The BT62 rides on center-locking 18-inch wheels which are shod in bespoke Michelin racing tires. The aggressive styling isn’t just for looks as Brabham says the model should produce more than 1,200 kg (2,645 lbs) of downforce. The extensive use of carbon fiber and carbon Kevlar also means the model weighs just 972 kg (2,142 lbs) dry. The track-focused design is evident in the cabin as drivers sit in FIA-spec carbon fiber racing seats with six-point harnesses. In front of them, is a removable carbon fiber steering wheel, adjustable pedals and a 12-inch digital instrument cluster. A closer in...

Like so many of its rivals, Volkswagen is in the midst of ramping up its EV game. What may very well set it apart is the prototype with which it aims to stake its claim. Unveiled in Alès, France – home to its highly accomplished driver – the new VW I.D. R Pikes Peak racer is set to tackle the famous Race to the Clouds. To get there, the German automaker has devised a racing prototype that it claims is quicker off the line than an F1 car. 2.25 seconds is all it takes to hit 62 miles per hour (100 km/h) from a standstill. That mind-bending performance comes courtesy of an electric powertrain capable of producing 680 horsepower (500 kW) and 881 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque. That’d be enough to motivate most road-going supercars, but the ID R weighs much less: under 1,100 kilograms (2,425 lbs), according to the manufacturer. The Lamborghini Huracan Performante, by comparison, weighs nearly a thousand pounds more, packs 40 fewer horses, and over 200 fewer lb-ft of torque. And t...

Ford will enter the Mustang in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series on the back of another record-setting year for the road car. The new Mustang will replace the Fusion in NASCAR and celebrate its on-track debut at Daytona in February 2019. It will be just the fourth Ford model in NASCAR’s modern era following on from the Thunderbird, Taurus, and Fusion. Initial testing of the Mustang stock car is still underway and it will be formally submitted to NASCAR for approval this summer. This announcement comes alongside news that the Ford Mustang is the world’s best-selling sports car for the third straight year. In 2017, a total of 125,809 new Mustangs were registered around the world. Unsurprisingly, the United States remains the Mustang’s largest market with 81,866 units registered last year. The Mustang has also been gaining traction in China and thanks to 7,125 local registrations, was the nation’s best-selling sports car also. Since the sixth-generation Mustang went on sal...

The FIA Formula E Championship has released its full list of participating manufacturers for next season. And as expected, it confirms that both Porsche and Mercedes will join the electric series. Both the German automakers announced their intent to enter the championship last July. And not without cost: Porsche’s entry comes at the expense of its Le Mans prototype program, while Mercedes is shutting down its DTM effort (but not its F1 team) to join the electric grid. But it wasn’t until now that their spots in the paddock were officially confirmed. “If you had said to me then that we would be in double figures in terms of recognisable names in the world of motorsport, biggest road car manufacturers and automotive brands – I would have said you were crazy,” said series chief Alejandro Agag. “But this is the reality now.” As the latest manufacturers to join the series, the two companies from Stuttgart will go up against their mutual rivals Audi and BMW (which is stepping up wit...

Volkswagen never made a Polo R… for the road, anyway. It did one for the World Rally Championship, but it shut that down last year. Yet here we have a new one. Created for the FIA World Rallycross Championship, this new VW Polo R Supercar packs 570 horsepower and all-wheel drive – perfect for the kind of showboating spectacle for which rallycross has become known. The front end looks more aggressive than last year’s car, and allows for both better engine cooling and more aerodynamic downforce. There’s a new rear wing at the back, adjustable for a greater range of setups. And the engine has been heavily revised as well. “Volkswagen R has always drawn inspiration and passion from motor racing,” said division chief Jost Capito. “We will now actively build on these qualities in close cooperation with our colleagues at Volkswagen Motorsport and the PSRX team. The FIA World Rallycross Championship will be really exciting and we are looking forward to working with our partners.” ...

VW has revealed the name of its new electric Pikes Peak contender, which is simply called the I.D. R. The new German electric prototype racing car will participate at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 24 in Colorado. The new I.D. R marks the first time Volkswagen R and Volkswagen Motorsport divisions work closer together for a joint product. “Pikes Peak is without question the most iconic hillclimb in the world,” said Jürgen Stackmann, Member of the Board of Management. “The I.D. R project represents a fantastic opportunity for Volkswagen to change the conversation about e-mobility, both emotionally and from a sporting perspective.” The announcement of the name was accompanied by a pair of illustrations of the new race car, revealing a shape similar to that of the Le Mans-contesting prototypes. “We want to be at the forefront of electro-mobility with Volkswagen and the I.D. family,” said Volkswagen Member of the Board of Management with responsibil...

The Hyundai i20 is heading to the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Only it’s not Hyundai that’s taking it there. Instead the i20 has been adapted to rallycross spec by GRX TANECO – the team run by two-time world rally champion Marcus Grönholm. The pair of new i20 supercars are based on the platform that Hyundai ran in the 2016 WRC. FIA WRX Supercars pack 2.0-liter turbocharged engines, sending 600 horsepower to all four wheels to deliver 0-60 times of 1.9 seconds. Short of full factory support, the partnership stems from Grönholm’s personal relationship with Hyundai rally team principal Michel Nandan. “We don’t have any manufacturer backing like some of the other teams in World Rallycross,” said Grönholm, “but we have a lot of information from when we bought the cars from Hyundai.” Reached for comment, Hyundai’s motorsport department confirmed that “this is a private project with no manufacturer involvement.” The i20s will replace the Ford Fiestas that GRX has run un...

Peugeot has some serious rally chops behind it. But while it has left the top tier of the World Rally Championship to its sister-brand Citroën, it actively competes in rallycross – and this is its new contender. The French automaker’s will compete in this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship with the new 2018 Peugeot 208 WRX. It’s based on the same vehicle the French marque has fielded in the series since 2014, but upgraded with key enhancements for the season ahead. Those upgrades include a new aerodynamics package to increase downforce, with a new wing and rear bumper. The suspension has been revised as well, with a new front setup, fresh dampers and bigger wheels, as well as a quicker-shifting gearbox and a new roll cage. It’s all wrapped in a fresh appearance that ought to make it stand out further from the crowd of other entries on the grid. Peugeot developed the new challenger in-house this time, instead of farming it out to Hansen. Timmy Hansen will st...

The organizers of the FIA Formula E Championship arrived in Geneva this week with their new Gen2 electric racer. But they’re not the only ones showing off the next-generation chassis. Along with a couple other participating manufacturers, Audi came to the show with its version, called the E-Tron FE05. Displayed on the automaker’s show stand alongside Lucas di Grassi’s championship-winning FE02, the new F05 adopts the radical new design. It also wears its own livery in green, white, and black. But Audi’s real contribution to the Abt Shaeffler team will be felt underneath the bodywork, where the German automaker will help develop the electric powertrain. The chassis itself, however, is being made by Spark Racing Technology, and the battery pack by McLaren. That battery is much more powerful than the current car’s, though, so those mid-race car-swaps that were mandated by the depleting charge will be a thing of the past. “We were all excited to see the new Formula E car,” sa...

A lot of cars get compared to the batmobile. Pretty much anything that looks cool and is painted black. Matte black especially. So we’re not going to draw that comparison, but Formula E will. In revealing its new Gen2 car, the racing series referred to its “batmobile-like bodywork.” And we’re not inclined to disagree, but DS Automobiles (the premium offshoot from Citroën) has taken it a step even further. The French automaker is the latest to have revealed its take on the next-generation electric racer, and it’s decked out in matte black and gold. Less like some Mansory monstrosity, and more like… well, the Batmobile. With some of Bruce Wayne’s gold thrown in. Of course, the paintjob isn’t the only thing the PSA brand has imbued on the Spark chassis. The engineers in the DS Performance division have drawn on their three years of experience in the series to develop the new DS E-Motor 19 powertrain, the transmission and cooling system to go with it, their accompanying electro...