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Preparing for Le Mans 2014 Porsche remembers 1971 and the 917 [w/video]

Porsche has given us another look back at its successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This time it's 1971, the year that its 917 set records that haven't all been eclipsed. It's 45-kilogram magnesium tube frame was the lightest, Jackie Oliver set the fastest in-race lap with a time that still stands, and winning drivers Helmut Marko - the same Helmut Marko currently with Infiniti Red Bull Racing - and Gilles Lethem did so many laps that their distance wasn't exceeded until the Audi R15 TDI did it in 2010.
1971 was also the year of the "Pink Pig." With bodywork created by a French aerodynamics firm, the wider, rounder 917 earned the porcine moniker so Porsche painted it pink and labeled it with the cuts you'd get from a pig. Sponsor Martini was so miffed they demanded all Martini branding be removed. No one can remove the thousands of photographs taken of the car ever since. Enjoy that and more in the video below.

Jaguar F-Type squares off against Porsche 911, Aston V8 Vantage with Chris Harris

Chris Harris is back on the job, taking on really really difficult car questions like: Which enormously sexy and good-to-drive, high-performance convertible is the top of the heap? As one of the hottest cars in the luxury space right now, the Jaguar F-Type S is, of course, in on the action. Competition comes in the form of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster and the Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. Sun-loving CEOs who despise test-driving need look no further.
Scroll on below for a fully featured (with a running time of more than 20 minutes) comparison video. Harris does his best to entertain - in a typically nitpicky and made-up-British-words fashion - and the moving pictures are lovely to look at. Kick back, pour a pint and get your weekend started off right.

McLaren P1 vs Porsche 918 vs Ducati 1199 Superleggera in epic standing-mile drag race

We live in a high-tech supercar renaissance, with the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari all duking it out for performance supremacy. All three members of this power trio place the engine behind the driver and use some kind of hybrid assist. However, each one finds a slightly different way to make that setup work. While all of the tech is insanely cool, let's just admit that we are all really wondering which one is the quickest and which is the fastest. Autocar aims to find out in a new video pitting two of them against a surprise challenger in the standing mile.
Unfortunately, the race is missing the Ferrari, despite Autocar's best efforts. So instead, it has another limited-edition, high-performance vehicle from Italy in the form of the Ducati 1199 Superleggera. The bike has just two cylinders, but at 1.2-liters of displacement, it makes over 200 horsepower, and all that gumption is packaged into a magnesium monocoque body with carbon fiber bodywork to keep weight low. Granted, the cycle is going up against the 875-hp Porsche and 903-hp McLaren, but traction, aerodynamics and gearing all play a part in this fascinating video.
There's no sense in ruining the winner before watching, but Autocar teases that the finish is one of its closest drag races ever. Check out the video to find out just what that means.