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Nissan unveils ZEOD RC at Nismo HQ in Japan [w/videos]

At Le Mans this past summer, Nissan unveiled the first prototype for the ZEOD RC, a new hybrid racecar which it intends to field at the famous French endurance race next year. Four months have passed since then, totaling eight month of development, and now Nissan has revealed the final form at the headquarters of its Nismo racing division.
The updated Nissan ZEOD RC benefits from a more streamlined shape with optimized cooling and improved aerodynamics. Although billed as an electric vehicle and not a hybrid, the ZEOD RC pairs a 1.6-liter turbo four with a pair of electric motors. Its regenerative braking system is derived from the Leaf RC, and after 11 laps, it's said to be capable of taking another around the Circuit de la Sarthe under electric power alone, making it the first racecar capable of doing so. Nissan has further stated that it hopes the lessons it garners from this project will help in its development of a new LMP1 to challenge for overall victory at Le Mans in the near future.
The ZEOD RC will be on display at Fuji Speedway this weekend during the six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship race there, after which it will continue its development at the hands of former GT1 champion Michael Krumm and gamer-turned-racer Lucas Ordonez, who will be getting it ready for (and possibly drive it at) next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. There it will compete - faster than most GTE sportscars, says Nissan - in the Garage 56 spot that once was awarded to the DeltaWing, which Nissan sponsored and to which the ZEOD RC looks conspicuously similar.

Nissan Bladeglider now on the backburner

There have been some big shakeups within Nissan's top executive ranks in the past 12 months, including Johan de Nyscchen leaving Infiniti to run Cadillac and Andy Palmer taking over Aston Martin. With them gone, the automaker's future product portfolio looks to be shifting as well. Among them, the chances are dwindling for the BladeGlider to actually arrive in dealers – already a rumored possibility. New Nissan planning boss Philippe Klein isn't nearly as hot on the idea of the BladeGlider as his predecessors. Where Palmer said last year the vehicle was in the brand's mid-term plan, Klein recently told Autocar that the model was "not among the immediate priorities." He didn't slam the door entirely on potential production, though. "It is still on the table, but at the end of the day it has to make sense to the company." Debuting at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, the BladeGlider translated the narrow-front, wide-rear wedge shape of the Deltawing and ZEOD RC racers to the street. In concept form, it used an electric drivetrain with hub-mounted motors, and the driver sat in the center with two passengers flanking them to the rear. According to Autocar, the project to develop a production version got at least as far as creating test cars from Ariel Atoms. The BladeGlider's renegade styling hasn't been the only thing holding it back from seeing the road, though. Panoz has a pending lawsuit against Nissan that claims the styling for the Nissan ZEOD RC and the BladeGlider infringe on the intellectual property for the Deltawing's design.

Porsche wins the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

The question going into this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was whether or not the Porsche 919 Hybrid would be able to combine its qualifying pace with race reliability. After battling neck-and-neck with Audi's R18 for most of the race, the answer is a resounding yes. Not only did Porsche drivers climb the first two spots on the podium, they did so without any major mishaps on track. This win is the first overall trophy for Porsche since 1998. Audi previously won the last five races, and 13 of the last 15. Corvette also returned to the winner's circle, with the No. 64 C7.R taking winning the GTE Pro division. The victory is the first class win for Corvette since 2011. KCMG won the LMP2 class in ninth overall. With 45 minutes to go the No. 98 Aston Martin crashed out of first place in GTE Amateur, giving the class win to SMP Racing's Ferrari and second place to the Patrick Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 RSR. For the full list of official results, click here. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. For most of the race, the battle at the top went back and forth between the two German manufacturers. An tire puncture in the No. 7 Audi gave up the lead to Porsche, and moments later a crash forced the No. 8 into the garage. But a three-minute replacement of the front and rear bodywork kept the Audi in contention. As the race wore into the night, Porsche maintained a slightly faster pace than Audi. Nick Tandy took the lead on Lap 253 early Sunday morning, and car No. 19 never gave up the top position. The win is the first for all three drivers of the No. 19 – Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber, and Nick Tandy. A lap behind in second was the No. 17 Porsche. The Audis fought reliability problems late in the race but still finished third with the No. 7 R18. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. As the Aston Martin cars dropped away, the lone Corvette Racing entry took over, followed by a charging AF Corse team Ferrari 458 Italia. The Corvette and Ferrari continued to trade places in the final hours until gearbox trouble forced the No. 51 Ferrari out of contention. It was eventually passed by the other AF Corse car, No. 71. Nissan experienced all the pain of a first-year effort with its front-wheel-drive GT-R LM Nismo.