It is very much part of the unpredictable ebb and flow of motorsports that most racing series go through periods of dominance at some time or another, where one team or one particular driver seems to be constantly a step or two ahead of the completion. On two wheels, Giacomo Agostini staked his claim to being the greatest motorcycle rider of all time by winning seven back to back world championships from 1966 to 1972. Sébastien Loeb and Citroën’s nine year stranglehold over the WRC is a feat that will probably never be surpassed, whilst in Formula 1 Michael Schumacher led Ferrari through an era of such dominance in the early 2000’s that fans actually started to accuse the sport of becoming ‘too boring’.
And so the same has come to pass in the oldest race of them all, the 24 hours of Le Mans. Audi, thanks largely to a perfect recipe of revolutionary diesel engineering combined with the unparalleled talents of Danish racing mastermind Tom Kristensen, have reigned supreme over the endurance classic for the best part of a decade. However, rule changes for 2014 will test their resolve to the maximum as other manufacturers grow ever hungrier to topple them from their perch.
This season, Toyota will be one of the teams in pole position to do just that. The car on which they will be pinning their hopes will be named the TS040 Hybrid and has been unveiled to the public in the South of France ahead of the official championship testing season. In order to take the fight to Audi’s recently released R18 WEC, Toyota’s new machine can call on a total of 986bhp via the combined 513bhp 3.7 litre V8 petrol engine and a 473bhp all-wheel drive hybrid motor. This represents a significant evolution from last year’s 3.4 litre TS030 Hybrid which managed second place. New regulations limit teams to using 25 per cent less fuel than in 2013 and therefore place greater emphasis on hybrid power and energy recovery systems. Indeed, Porsche’s claim that they will be able to harvest up to 8 megajoules per lap through a two-pronged kinetic and thermal energy recovery system has already laid down a significant marker to the rest of the field.
The Japanese outfit retains the same squad of drivers for 2014, with Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima sharing the No7 car and Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi piloting the No8 machine.
The TS040 Hybrid has already completed 12 days of testing across Europe and will now enter the final few weeks of preparation in the run-up to the start of the 2014 World Endurance Championship season on 20 April at Silverstone. The main event itself at Le Mans gets underway on 14 June.
The king is dead long live the king… This is the phrase many Ferrari fans have chanted as LaFerrari takes over from the Enzo as the Italian brands flagship supercar. Whilst the Ferrari Enzo was very impressive back in 2002 with its 6.0 litre V12 engine producing an massive 650BHP, LaFerrari is very much an example of what the company can do with todays technologies. Costing £1,040,000 LaFerrari possesses 950BHP developed by a 6.3 litre V12 engine in tandem with a KERS styled electric motor. 0-62MPH is obliterated in just 3 seconds but even more incredibly LaFerrari will go from standing to 186MPH in just 15.5 seconds! Ferrari have just started handing over the keys to the 399 lucky owners, one of which has found a friend with an Enzo and has taken them both for a blast. LaFerrari VS Ferrari Enzo.
Whilst this isn’t a race a such between the two, it is clear to see that LaFerrari has much greater traction out of the corners. Enjoy the video. Volume up!
Audi have dominated the world of endurance racing for over a decade. The Germans have won the famous Le Mans 24 hour 12 times and it would have been 9 times in a row if it were not for pesky Peugeot in 2009. Audi want to retain their Le Mans crown but with strong competition from Toyota and now Porsche, their 2014 Audi R18 WEC has to be one of the most capable cars racing has ever seen.
Audi revealed to the world their new car in race trim complete with updated livery. However, they have decided to backtrack on a technology that regenerates energy lost through heat. The system, MGU-H, is just like that found on the 2014 specification Formula One cars, but the team will not use it as planned due to reliability issues. Instead they will stick with their tried and tested kinetic energy recovery system that can harvest 2 megajoules over a lap. Their competitors, and in particular Porsche, are expected to be recapturing 6 to 8MJ per lap. This potentially puts Audi at a disadvantage but they say that the increased reliability and fuel efficiency of their new turbocharged 4.0 litre V6 diesel engine will prevail.
The 2014 Audi R18 WEC reignited tradition as it was driven through the streets of Le Mans before being shown to the media.
The McLaren F1 was a car of biblical proportions. Years ahead of its time pioneering the application of cutting edge Formula One technology in a road car, it will forever be a four wheeled legend. We have had to wait a very long time for a succour to the F1, but the P1 has proven to be worth the wait. That said, if you wanted one you are too late!
The McLaren P1 is now sold out with all 375 cars that are set to be produced having owners. There are even back-up buyers incase someone changes their mind! Equipped with KERS, DRS and a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8, this 903BHP modern-day marvel will sprint from 0-62MPH in just 2.8 seconds. (Click here for full McLaren P1 specifications.) Apparently 75% of P1 customers have ordered specific customisations on their cars from McLaren Special Operations. It has also bee confirmed that the McLaren P1 has lapped the Nürburgring in under 7 minutes.
It is the road car rivalry of the decade… Faster, more advanced and even more competitive. The planets have alined for us to bear witness to this titanic battle between two of the greatest cars ever made in the same year. The McLaren has placed its cards firmly on the table and to be honest, Ferrari are going to have their work cut out against their longterm Formula One foes.
McLaren’s P1 is powered by a 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 903BHP. LaFerrari gets a 47BHP advantage from its 950BHP V12 engine. When it comes to weight the Ferrari scores well again being about 100KG lighter thanks to the way they have packaged their hybrid system. Although McLaren’s KERS may weigh more, it is expected to produce more torque that that of the prancing horse’s because of the way it is built into the engine and gearbox. McLaren announced their official performance figures for the P1 the other day whereas Ferrari have been purposefully vague in some areas. The 0-62MPH sprint for the Brit takes just 2.8 seconds, for the Italian it is a mysterious “less than 3 seconds.” The Ferrari does 0-124MPH in “less than 7 seconds” and the McLaren will do it officially in 6.8 seconds. The one figure Ferrari is blowing its trumpet about is LaFerrari’s 0-186MPH time of 15.5 seconds as it undercuts the P1 that does it in 16.5 seconds. Top speed according to the red car is “unimportant” and so will no be quoted, but McLaren have told us that their car will do an electronically limited top speed of 217MPH.
There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to LaFerrari, quite possibly to allow engineers some extra tinkering time before the outcome is set in stone. However, there is speculation that the McLaren P1 has completed a lap of the Nürburgring in a blistering 6 minutes 47 seconds, something that Ferrari will find tough to beat considering that the P1 produces the same level of downforce as a baby elephant being sat on its roof.
In a partnership that has got the entire Formula One community feeling all nostalgic, Honda and McLaren are joining forces once again for the 2015 season. The Japanese company are supplying McLaren with their engines for the new car reigniting a hugely successful force to be reckoned with. Honda have released a recording of the new engine firing-up for the first time.
New regulations, that shall be introduced at the start of the 2014 season, will see F1 cars dropping their famous V8’s for turbocharged 1.6 litre engines. The new power units will produce around the same level of power as their predecessors but will be heavily supplemented by KERS.
Check out the video below to hear Honda’s new engine!
They are two of the most anticipated cars to be produced in the past decade. The Formula One super powers of McLaren and Ferrari have again built what they feel is the best road going rocket ships they can. Both have obscene amounts of power, both have more technology onboard than the space shuttle and both claim to be the fastest. Not that long ago we released a video of both of these cars and pitched the question “what do you think is better?” Since then this video has become one of our most watched and has had many comments. Here is what you guys had to say…
Amidst all of the blatant “LaFerrari!!!” “McLaren 4 ever <3” comments the general consensus is that the Ferrari looks better. It’s aggressive stance appears to play well to the crowds as opposed to the McLaren’s more curvaceous architecture. However, many people think that the McLaren will be the quicker out of the two despite its power output deficit.
This is all very interesting stuff and your opinions are very welcome in the comments section. The truth is that until both cars are side-by-side racing against the clock we just don’t know what one is “better.”
Are car manufacturers becoming a bit sober? A bit boring in comparison to their younger selves? Gone are the days of mega hatchbacks spawned from Group-B rally cars and in their place sits machines that only ever seem to put on weight. Renualt have gone all out to show the world that they haven’t lost their sense of fun with possibley the coolest concept car of the year.
This is the Renault Twizy F1 Concept, in essence a Twizy equipped with the very same KERS that a Formula One car takes racing. An extra 79BHP is sent to the Twizy’s rear wheels when a button is pushed on the race inspired steering wheel. Donning a front wing, sidepods and rear wing, this single seater electric car means business. 0-62MPH can now be completed in 6.0, a figure that matches Renault’s fastest road car on sale today. The chassis was setup by RenaultSport whilst the cars inner workings were left to their F1 division.
It is very hard not to be impressed by Ferrari’s new supercar. A V12 and KERS producing 950BHP, 0-186MPH in just 15.5 seconds, limited to 499 examples. LaFerrari is packed with Formula One technology and so inevitably the prancing horse gave the keys to their top gun. Fernando Alonso was told to do “two slow laps” of Ferrari’s test track but instead went about taking the £1 Million+ car by the scruff of the neck and setting a blistering lap time.
LaFerrari is undoubtably the talking point of the Geneva motor show for 2013. The 950BHP Italian supercar not only looks stunning, but also packs some of the most cutting edge tech to make it from racing to the road. Here is the official launch video of the car in action. Volume up ladies and gents…
