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Porsche LMP1 to use 4-cyl hybrid powertrain [w/poll]

With the Formula One season - and indeed his entire F1 career - now behind him, Mark Webber took advantage of his early release from Red Bull Racing to try out the new LMP1 which Porsche is developing, undertaking the final test session of 2013 before Porsche throws it head first into the FIA World Endurance Championship next April. The session - which followed previous tests at Magny-Cours, Monza, Paul Ricard and the Eurospeedway at Lausitz - was held at the Algarve circuit in Portimão, Portgual, in collaboration with Michelin, which is developing the tires for the car. But that's hardly the news here.
No, the news is the first confirmation we've seen on the type of powertrain Porsche has developed for its new Le Mans prototype: a gasoline-burning four-cylinder engine with direct injection and two energy recovery systems. This contrasts sharply with the V6 turbodiesel and single electric motor used by Audi in the R18 e-tron Quattro (or at least the outgoing version) or the naturally-aspirated V8 and single electric motor found in the Toyota TS030. Flexibility in the rules set down by the FIA and ACO give the manufacturers that kind of latitude, prompting F1 teams like Ferrari and Renault to consider developing their new engines for Le Mans prototypes as well.
At this point Porsche isn't saying how large its four-cylinder engine is or how much power it will produce. But it'll be interesting, to say the least, to see how it fares against the Audi and Toyota in next year's championship and at Le Mans when it'll be piloted by Webber, former Lola LMP1 driver Neel Jani and Audi's own 2011 Le Mans-winning pair of Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard.

2014 Porsche Cayman promo video hits the web

Don't know how we missed this, but you don't have to play around with the 2014 Porsche Cayman configurator to see the new coupe in action; Porsche has given us more than two beautiful minutes of Cayman footage to enjoy.
The partners in the on-screen tango are the 275-horsepower base Cayman and the 325-hp Cayman S. If you like to keep track of such things, the former starts at $52,600, the latter at $63,800, plus $950 destination for each. Watching a video like the one below, however, is free.

Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport delivers track-only thrills for $165K

Among the cars on display in Los Angeles, production and concept cars are normal. Racers, though, are rather rare. And race-specific models that can be had for less than $200,000 are more or less unheard of. Don't tell that to Porsche, though, because the German automaker has introduced the new Cayman GT4 Clubsport for the relatively reasonable sum of $165,000. For that supercar-worthy price, you'll be getting a number of race-derived parts. As we covered in our preview post, that will include a strong roster of safety equipment, including a full roll cage and six-point harnesses that will keep you pinned in a purposeful racing bucket. The standard 18.5-gallon fuel tank can be replaced with an optional 26.5-gallon setup, while a central fire extinguisher keeps things from getting too hot out on the track. Mechanically, the Clubsport adjusts the Cayman GT4 formula for the track. The road car's 3.8-liter flat-six engine is still mounted amidships, but it's paired with super-quick, six-speed dual-clutch transmission, the critically acclaimed PDK. It's the suspension, though, that sees the most dramatic changes, as Porsche has pressed the front and rear strut suspension from the 911 GT3 Cup into duty for the GT4 Clubsport. The new system is lighter, and contributes to the track star's 2,866-pound curb weight. That's nearly a 100-pound drop over the road car. A set of four 15-inch steel rotors clamped by six-piston calipers up front and four-piston units in the rear should deliver stopping power as impressive as the cornering and acceleration. Amateur racers interested in the new coupe can purchase it directly from Porsche Motorsports North America for competition in the 2016 racing season. Homologation is still being hammered out, but Porsche expects the GT4 Clubsport to be certified for the "VLN Long Distance Championship Nurburgring, the Ultra 94 GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, the PCA Club Racing Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East as well as for other club-level competition events around the world." Read on for the official press release. New Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport for the racetrack World premiere in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Porsche has added a new sports car for amateur and club racing to its Motorsports fleet: The Cayman GT4 Clubsport celebrated its world premiere today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.