1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe 2-door 3.4l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid sharpens up to defend its titles

Porsche made a clean sweep of LMP1 racing last season, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship for both drivers and manufacturers. And now that it's back on top of the podium, it's not about to step down again without putting up a fight. To that end, witness the newly revised 919 Hybrid. Revealed ahead of the season's start with the Prologue event at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, the 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid is an evolution of the version that debuted in 2014 and trounced the competition in 2015. But Audi and Toyota – with their similarly revised R18 and TS050 – will be at least as hungry this year to dethrone Porsche as Porsche will be to retain its titles, so the racing engineers in Weissach have made made a number of revisions. The chassis and basic engine architecture, of course, are the same, with a two-liter turbocharged V4 assisted by a brake energy recovery system at the front and exhaust energy recuperation at the back. But the engine now uses less fuel, so it can run longer between pit stops – a vital element of the strategy when racing for hours on end. The aerodynamics were made more adjustable so that the team can switch between three packages depending on the type of track they're running. While they were at it, those notoriously exacting German engineers managed to cut some excess weight out as well. And instead of the three different color liveries like last year, this season the 919 Hybrid will run under a common livery of black, white, and red – which hopefully won't get mixed up with those of its rivals from Audi and Toyota. We guess we'll all find out when the season kicks off in earnest at Silverstone in mid-April. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, LMP1 Ready for title defence: the new Porsche 919 Hybrid Stuttgart. World debut of the new 919 Hybrid: Two days before the official Prologue for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Paul Ricard, France, Porsche is presenting its race car for this season. Strong development characterises the new 919 Hybrid' technology. The powertrain became even more efficient, the aerodynamics were even more specific for the various race tracks and the weight of single components was even more reduced. "The over 900 hp strong Le Mans Prototype is ready for the title defence," said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1.

Ken Block's Gymkhana 8 to feature Dubai Police cars?

Yesterday we showed you the shiny Ford Fiesta that Ken Block will slide, spin, and hoon through the next Gymkhana video. In case the image above isn't clear, that video will drop at midnight EST on February 30th on the Ford Performance YouTube channel. We don't know all the entire premise of the video yet, but this Tweet from the man himself reveals that the video will be set in Dubai. Block is standing on the Fiesta we saw yesterday, and arrayed behind him are a handful of those famous Dubai Police cars you're probably familiar with. The force has a fleet of sportscars and supercars, and the purpose is outreach and goodwill among its citizenry, not necessarily the pursuit of criminals. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. From left to right, we can see a Maserati GranTurismo, Porsche 911, what looks to be a Nissan GT-R obscured by Block's Fiesta, a McLaren (likely a 650S), Ford Mustang, and a Ferrari 599 of some ilk. Will they take part? Maybe Block will try and run from what might be the most horsepower-intensive police fleet in the world. We'll have answers (and a few minutes of pure Block hooniganism) in a few days. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Big Oil fails at renewable fuel, scientists study air with EVs, plug-in Panamera sales

Big Oil companies help keep renewable fuels out of your tank, a new report shows. No surprise there, right? The Renewable Fuels Association published a report card grading the country's largest retail gasoline chains on fuel offerings like E85 and E15. The report gave failing grades, with less than one percent of stations offering E15 or E85, to "Big Five" companies Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, among other oil company and convenience/grocery store brands. The only major oil companies that didn't get an "F" were Valero (D), Cenex (B), and Marathon (A-). The eight companies that scored an A+ had at least 25 percent of their stations offering E85 or E15. Read more at Domestic Fuel.Leicester scientists are studying local air pollution using EVs. Beginning July 4, University of Leicester researchers began driving electric vehicles kitted out with special sensors to monitor air quality throughout the city (similar to how California does it). Now their emissions-free daily driving duties double as data collection for their studies. "By monitoring air quality as a seamless part of our daily transport system, we are providing a cost-effective way to help inform future policy and operational systems," says the University's Dr. Roland Leigh. Read more at Fleet News. "There is no doubt electric cars are the future." – Nissan's Andy Palmer Nissan is exploring the idea of taking its Leaf EV to India, but a lack of charging options is an obstacle. According to Nissan's chief planning officer Andy Palmer, "There is no doubt electric cars are the future. The product is there, what we need is infrastructure. Charging is a big challenge." Though Nissan stopped short of saying it (this time), this could possibly mean working with Mahindra, which said it is open to collaborating with other companies concerning EVs. Learn more in this article from the Hindustan Times and know that India is rolling out a plan to encourage the production and adoption of EVs. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan will get over $2 billion in funding, and some of that will go toward creating a charging infrastructure (you hear that, Nissan?). This is good news for EV manufacturers, India's economy and people who enjoy breathing clean air. Read more at The Financial Express.Porsche has reported a significant sales increase, part of which is due to demand for the Panamera S E-Hybrid.