1970 Porsche 911t Karmann Coupe on 2040-cars

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Here's what Jay Leno will be working on in 2016

Jay Leno always has a project or five underway in his garage, and since 2015 is practically over, his latest video offers a glimpse at some of the amazing vehicles we might see his team complete in the coming year. Leno's crew certainly has a lot to do next year. Leno's most impressive current undertaking is an effort to modernize a 1914 Detroit Electric with about ten times its original power output. He showed off the vintage EV as just a shell in his last tour of the garage, but his team has now recreated the wood body. They also started the project's bigger challenge of installing a new electric motor and lithium-ion batteries from a Nissan Leaf. If EVs don't interest you, Leno has plenty of other irons in the fire, too. There's a 1971 Porsche 911 that's under restoration to turn it into a solid driver and several motorcycles in various states of repair. Leno even welcomes viewers into his dyno room to check out the work on the Chrysler V8 for his Cunningham. The results of this wrenching and welding on these projects should make for even more compelling videos in 2016.

Chris Harris brings together the 918 Spyder, LaFerrari, and P1

The Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 show that a hybrid powertrain can make for blistering performance despite its electric assist. This trio doesn't arrive on track together very often, but Chris Harris assembled these three stars at the Portimao circuit for a nearly hour-long demonstration of their amazing capabilities. So, which one is quickest around the track? Harris provides an answer with in-car video of all three contenders. His team also goes out of its way to even the playing field by sourcing tires independently from Pirelli for the P1 and LaFerrari. With the technical part out of the way, Harris can start having fun by doing his usual slides during the driving comparison. Tiff Needell and Marino Franchitti also eventually show up to provide the perfect recipe for a track battle in these hypercars. If you don't have the time, skip about 14:25 into the clip just to see the lap times. However, those numbers only tell a tiny part of the story. The whole video is definitely worth a watch.

James May's 1984 Porsche 911 is priced to sell at Goodwood

James May needs money. He's out of work, has payments to make on his Ferrari, and has resorted to doing less than stellar work to make ends meet. He and his colleague Richard Hammond sold their motorcycles to raise some extra scratch, and now Captain Slow is selling his Porsche, too. Of course, with years of paychecks form Top Gear and other TV appearances, several books, and a weekly column in The Daily Telegraph, it's unlikely that May is worried about debtor's prison. Mostly because that doesn't exist in the UK anymore, but also because he's probably loaded. The vehicle in question is a 1984 Porsche 911 Carrera, complete with air-cooled 3.2-liter flat-six. He became acquainted with the car in 2007 when he borrowed it from specialist Paul Devyea to record a Radio 4 documentary, and evidently fell in love, so he bought it. He even had it on air for a couple of specials for Top Gear and James May's Toy Stories. He loaned it to his dad for a while, but with his time on Top Gear now at an end, he's consigned it to Bonhams (the same house that handled his bike sale) to auction off at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed. Its pre-sale estimate is quoted at GBP28,000-34,000 ($44-53k), which would seem a bit low – especially considering its celebrity provenance and low 55,000 miles on the odometer. Bonhams specialist Sholto Gilbertson tells Autoblog that "the estimate placed on the car has been designed to attract interest and ultimately achieve a stronger price for Mr. May."