2003 Porsche Boxster Convertible on 2040-cars

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Here's how to follow this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans

In the pantheon of motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans stands as one of the great endurance challenges to man and machine. This year's event in France already looks to be one for the ages with Porsche setting record-breaking times in practice and the competition debut of Nissan's front-engine, hybrid racer. Thankfully, there's a massive list of ways to follow this automotive attraction. Reilly Brennan, the Executive Director of the Revs Automotive Research Program at Stanford University, and a friend of Autoblog, has once again assembled a helpful couch-kit to organize many of the options. Unfortunately, the old-school way of just turning on the television might be the most frustrating way to watch Le Mans this year. Fox Sports 1 and 2 are carrying about half the race, but the coverage bounces between them seemingly at random. The broadcast begins on Fox Sports 2 at 8:30 AM Eastern ahead of the 9:00 AM start and lasts there until 12:00 PM. Things don't pick up again until 7:00 PM Eastern on Fox Sports 1 for an hour, and the channels swap back and forth more from there. The Fox Sports Go streaming app offers more, but even it stops showing the race a few times. Thankfully, streaming Le Mans is easy. If you can't dedicate 24-hours on the couch, Radio Le Mans lets you listen to audio commentary anywhere with some of the best announcers in the biz. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the governing body for the race, also offers an official video stream in an app for $9.99. For a really low-tech solution, the official Twitter is another choice. Brennan is keeping his list updated with coverage changes. You can also check out and download the spotter's guide (from Nissan) in the gallery above. Enjoy this year's race. If you miss anything, don't worry; expect a full report from Autoblog. In fact, editor-in-chief Mike Austin is attending Le Mans this year, so follow him on Twitter for on-the-fly impressions. Featured Gallery 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotter's Guide News Source: Reilly BrennanImage Credit: Nissan Motorsports Audi Nissan Porsche Toyota Hybrid Racing Vehicles

2016 Porsche Boxster Spyder First Drive [w/video]

The recipe for the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder cooked up a meal that everyone loved. Yes, even with the three-piece, Erector Set canvas top that took one journalist 30 minutes to lower the first time. Boiled down, the 2011 model was a Boxster S with 10 extra horsepower and 176 fewer pounds, graced with accelerated reflexes. For the second coming of the Boxster Spyder, Porsche fortified the ingredients it used in the first. It starts with the Boxster GTS and adds the 3.8-liter flat-six from the 911 Carrera S, tuned to 375 horsepower and 301 pound-feet of torque. The Spyder subtracts around 72 pounds compared to the Boxster GTS, weighing in at 2,899 pounds. This, then, is both the most powerful and the lightest Boxster you can get. For you fact-checkers out there, the entry-level Boxster is listed at 2,888 pounds on the Porsche USA site, but a spokesman points out that, "the metric for determining weight has changed, which increased the amount of fluids necessary to perform weight testing." In other words, the base Boxster is unchanged, but the real-world curb weight is actually higher. It's ridiculous to quibble over 11 pounds – or whatever the difference is – because the Boxster Spyder has 110 more horsepower and 96 more pound-feet than the base model. With a successful technique already established, we thought the latest Boxster Spyder would even more of a raucous and rowdy good time than its predecessor. But it's not. The standard Boxster Spyder doesn't come with manual A/C or a stereo, but both can be added for no additional cost. The exterior, at least, exhibits the right kind of maturity. Front and rear fascias swiped from the Cayman GT4 add 10 millimeters in length compared to other Boxsters. Those pieces make the car lighter, along with items like the aluminum doors and decklid. The bulges behind the roll hoops, called streamliners, are the can't-miss-it references to Porsche's historic and legendary Spyders. In case admirers still don't get it, Spyder badges sit atop each rear quarter panel. Inside, the leather, body-colored trim, and copious amount of Alcantara is like a track-day package arranged by Prada. The steering wheel is shared with the Cayman GT4. The lightweight sport seats that hug like a carbon fiber cradle in our test car aren't available in our market. Different sport seats are standard in the US, racier buckets are a $4,750 option.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS getting all-new atmospheric engine

Porsche surprised many of its most puritanical enthusiasts when it took a decidedly more usable approach with the current 911 GT3. But when the new GT3 RS debuts, it promises to be a much more extreme departure. And a big part of that comes down to the engine. At the Detroit Auto Show this week, Auto Express spoke with Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz – who also happens to be head of engine and transmission development for the entire Volkswagen group. Hatz revealed that Porsche has developed a completely new engine for the GT3 RS, and while previous rumors suggested the RS would go turbo to fill in for the lack of a GT2 (and make the most out of its displacement), Hatz confirmed that it will be naturally aspirated. Considering that Porsche rarely goes downwards when it comes to 911 engine displacement, only upwards, we'd expect the new RS to pick up where the previous 4.0 left off. The new GT3 RS is also expected to pack a more extreme suspension, aero and stripped-out interior, but those hoping for an old-school approach may be disappointed to learn that the new RS will (at least at launch) only be available with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission – though a manual version could follow if there's enough demand. In a related development, Hatz also hinted that the Cayman GT4 could debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, with an even more extreme approach than the previous Cayman R. The new top-of-the-line Cayman is reportedly being developed to comply with GT4 class racing regulations but be fully homologated for road use. Related Video: