A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Porsche wins Le Mans
Last year, Porsche returned to Le Mans prototype racing with much fanfare and expectation. The company has a long pedigree of winning at the most gruelling and famous endurance race in the world, and after a 16-year absence, they were ready to re-energize the world.
Sadly, Le Mans is a place built to break machinery and spirits, and Porsche only just managed to claim completion at last year's race. The Audi juggernaut steamed onward, crushing the opposition yet again.
This year, however, Porsche absolutely blazed back onto the track, taking pole position in qualifying and setting record laps while doing so. They then proceeded to keep that pace for most of the race, finishing with a dominating first and second win.
There were other stories at Le Mans too, with Patrick Dempsey coming second in class in his 911 RSR racer and a Corvette taking first-in-class in the GTE pro class. But as far as the 2015 Le Mans was concerned, this year belonged to Porsche. Having broken Audi's streak, next year's race promises to be even better.
Ford GT returns to Le Mans
And here's one car that ensures next year is going to be even nuttier — Ford's going back to Le Mans, and they're bringing the big guns. When the Ford GT was first unveiled, a racing version was broadly hinted at. However, we'd all seen that movie before: while the previous-gen GT looked a bit like the original, legendary GT40, it was just a retro-inspired supercar. A marvellous machine, yes, but not one built for the circuit.
However, the new, Canadian-built Ford GT was obviously meant to take to the racetrack, and Ford has just announced that they intend to take on their rivals in the GTE class. A red, white, and blue liveried car was just revealed with special aerodynamic tweaks including a huge rear air-diffuser.
The GTE class is one of the more interesting to watch in Le Mans racing because the cars actually look like cars (the LMP1 class is basically a spaceship-dogfight). Get ready to see the pride of Dearborn take on Ferrari all over again, as well as Porsche, Aston-Martin, and current-champion Corvette.
Rumour: Honda planning Cayman competitor
Rumourmills always throw up all kinds of nonsense, especially where sportscars are concerned. I mean, how many times have you been told there's a new mid-engined Corvette coming? I'll believe it when I see it.
But here's something that might have a thread of truth to it. Sources placed close to Honda indicate that the company is planning a small sportscar to compete with the Cayman. Details are slim and prone to conjecture, but the idea would be something like the Toyota MR2, re-born as a Honda flagship. Here's why this might actually happen. The NSX is going to be hugely expensive, and with a 500+ horsepower twin-turbo V-6, far more of an aggressive machine than the last one. In their arsenal, Honda has a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine that can be found in the ferocious Civic Type R, and they also have a tiny little mid-engined sports machine in the Japan-only S660. They've got a compact nine-speed dual-clutch gearbox to work with, experience developing mid-engined handling, years of research and development on torque-vectoring clutches and stability control systems, and a desire to give Honda the halo car it might need.
The Civic Type R is going to be an amazing machine, but quite expensive for a front-driver. A true Honda sportscar, something that carries the banner of the brand like the S2000 once did — if in a totally different way — might just be more than a rumour.
Car shows on the North Shore this weekend
Father's Day brings with it the promise of patterned socks and ties, but also several annual car shows on the North Shore. Skip the novelty neckties and take dad out to a couple of these show and shines instead. In Dundarave village, the local branch of the Porsche Club of America is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their annual show-and-ride, a Porsche-centric show that raises money for cystic fibrosis research. If you are a Porsche fan (even if your personal collection only extends to Hot Wheels), it's absolutely the place to be.
About 100 machines will line the curb along Dundarave, and there'll be everything there from 911s to a rare Carrera GT and even two 918 Spyders, Porsche's latest supercar. With Porsche recently winning Le Mans in a historic 17-year comeback, expect a festive mood.
Over at Waterfront Park, it's the annual Italian and French car show. Matter of fact, the local Club Trofeo will be stopping in at the Porsche show to drop off a donation for their worthy cause before heading on over to their own show.
The gathered Italian exotics are wonderful, and so too is the French elegance . . . and oddness. As ever at any of these shows, the real stories are with the people more than the cars, so make sure to say hello to one of the proud owners. They'll be sure to talk your ear off.
Watch this space for all the best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to mcaleer.nsnews@gmail.com.
