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The 2013 Rolex 24-hour race at Daytona comes down to the last hour [spoilers, w/video]

It took 24 hours to run the race, but it was the last one was stuffed with the high action as four cars were still trying to figure out how to gain victory on the track and in the pits. Along with the obligatory crashes, spins, mechanical issues and retirements had come numerous penalties, a double-digit number of full-course yellows and two hours of fog that turned early Sunday morning into a stretch of parade laps.
The final hour would make up for the morning - drivers who might have been happy just to get on the podium had a shot at victory as the end of the race approached, and that turned into a few gambles that paid off, and at least one that didn't...

Porsche to reveal Cayman GT4 Clubsport racer in LA

Aspiring professionals and amateur gentleman racers alike will want to swing by the Porsche booth at the LA Auto Show this year. That's where the German automaker will be revealing its new entry-level racer. The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is nearly stock, but features some choice upgrades to cater its disposition toward the racetrack. Power comes from the same 3.8-liter flat-six as the road-going Cayman GT4 (shown above), producing the same 385 horsepower. It ditches the manual, however, for the faster-shifting DCT (which we expect will soon be offered on the showroom version as well), aided by a mechanical locking differential. It features the front suspension setup from the 911 GT3 Cup car and beefed-up steel brakes. It's also got a roll cage inside and a racing bucket with a six-point harness. All told, the whole package weighs 2,866 pounds – making it a good hundred pounds lighter than the street-legal model on which it's so closely based. Once homologation is complete, customers will be able to field it in series like the Pirelli World Challenge, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, and Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy. Porsche has yet to release images, but we'll be sure to update this post as soon as they're available – so watch this space. New race car for motorsport newcomers Porsche develops Cayman GT4 Clubsport Stuttgart. Using the lightweight Cayman GT4 as the basis, Porsche Motorsport has developed a near-standard racing version. The Cayman GT4 Clubsport celebrates its world premiere at the Los Angeles Motor Show on 18 November. Sales of the 283 kW (385 hp) mid-engine racer for motorsport newcomers also start on this date. Just like its race-worthy production sibling, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine. The racing version features a Porsche double clutch transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mechanical rear-axle locking differential. The lightweight suspension strut front axle is taken from its big 911 GT3 Cup brother, which is campaigned in Porsche's 20 one-make championships around the world. The impressive racing brake system is fitted with steel brake discs all round measuring 380-millimetre in diameter. Tipping the scales at just 1,300 kilograms, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, delivered ex-works with a welded-in safety cage, a racing bucket seat as well as a six-point harness, is truly lightweight.

Porsche resurrects V8-powered 911 prototype from the Eighties

These days, we take it for granted that the Porsche 911 uses a flat-six engine. That's because every version of the iconic rear-engined sports car has had one. Right? Well, for the most part. There was the 912 that joined the original in the late Sixties with a flat-four. And in the mid-Eighties, Porsche toyed around with the idea of a V8-powered 911.
After the first-generation 911 had been in production for over two decades, Porsche began development of its successor, the 964, in the 1980s. And one of its ideas was to use a V8 engine. So it took a 964, borrowed a V8 from Audi, gave it the rear bodywork from a 959 and dubbed it the 965.
The idea was to create a more affordable successor to the 959 that included its advanced all-wheel drive system and active suspension. The Audi V8 would have been replaced with one of Porsche's own design - possibly based on the it had built for Indy racing - but Dr. Ulrich Bez (who was then head of Porsche R&D long before taking the reins at Aston Martin) ultimately killed the project.