1999 Porsche Boxster Convertible on 2040-cars

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The cars and trucks of 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'

The latest spectacle in the Transformers franchise is about to hit the theaters. The final trailer was released, giving us peeks at what appears to be a pretty boilerplate story about the end of the world. There's some kind of ancient interplanetary war brewing and it's up to some teenagers to sort it out with the help of their robot buddies. But this is Autoblog, so we're not even going to try to suss out a plot so thin it won't hold a spittle globule's worth of water. We'll just go over the cars. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts | Official Final Trailer (2023 Movie) Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8: Mirage So far the star of the film, car-wise, looks to be a blue-on-silver 964 Porsche named Mirage that is voiced by Pete Davidson. It's been the most promoted of the movie cars, even more so than formerly central characters like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. Except, this isn't just any ordinary 911; it's a Carrera RS 3.8, a European-exclusive model of which Porsche only built 55 units. As the name implies, it came with a bored-out M64 turbo flat-six as opposed to the 964 Turbo's 3.6. It wore the Turbo's wide-body badonk with a bi-level rear wing, but Porsche reportedly stripped out 570 pounds' worth of weight despite embiggening key performance parts like brakes and wheels. Fortunately, no actual RS 3.8s were used in the movie. Producers instead built five cars for different purposes — shooting closeups of actors, jumps, the obligatory driving backwards real fast — out of lesser 911s. However, the sound department did record the engine note of an actual RS 3.8 for accuracy, as the higher crank speeds of the 3.8 have a distinctive sound.  In the original 1984 Transformers lineup Mirage was a Ligier JS11 Formula 1 car, complete with faux Gitanes cigarette branding (on a children's toy!). An F1 racer would raise an eyebrow on the streets, so it made sense to update to a street-legal sports car. If you're wondering why this Porsche isn't the character Jazz, whose original vehicle mode was an ultra-cool Martini-liveried Porsche 935, well, he was remade into a Pontiac Solstice voiced by Darius McCrary during the GM product placement rewrite in 2007's Transformers reboot, then unceremoniously killed. 1977 Chevrolet Camaro: Bumblebee Formerly the franchise star, Bumblebee gets far less screen time in the trailers. He's still a Camaro, but because Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994 he's not a fith-gen.

The exotic '80s: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus and the Porsche 959

There's no secret that we are big fans of the MotorWeek Retro Review series around here. In an automotive world that often focuses on the latest tech and what's coming in the future, it's refreshing to take a look into the past to get a new perspective. That said, the show is really outdoing itself this time by posting a full episode from the '80s to YouTube, complete with the original, jazzy opening. The video is an absolute standout, too, with drives of some of the best supercars that Europe could offer at the time. Among the now classic sportscars that MotorWeek got to drive are the Ferrari 328, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Lamborghini Jalpa and Autokraft AC Mark IV. There's even a preview that sings the praises of the tech in the Porsche 959. The episode is basically a showcase of most of the exotics from young enthusiasts' walls and school folders during the '80s and is not to be missed. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Ferrari Lamborghini Lotus Porsche Performance Classics Videos lotus esprit ac

Patrick Dempsey to take break from racing after career season

The popular American actor has decided to take a step back from racing to focus on his "family and acting career." Outside of motorsports, Dempsey's tenure on the hit TV show Grey's Anatomy as Derek Shepherd ended last year, as did his 16-year marriage to makeup artist Jillian Fink. They have since reconciled. Reaching the top step of the podium During that same year, Dempsey finally reached the top step of the podium in his professional sports car racing career, winning the Fuji round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. Earlier in the season, he placed second in class in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance classic. His Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche squad ended 2015 sixth in the GTE-Am standings. Along with four starts at Le Mans between 2009 and 2015, Dempsey competed in a total of 68 races between Grand-Am, ALMS and the recently formed hybrid of the two -- The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship. He scored nine podiums, which includes high profile races such as the Rolex 24, Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Patrick Dempsey to focus on "family and acting" in 2016 But he will not add on to his growing racing resume this year. Dempsey has released a statement, announcing that he will not compete in any events this season, although his team will continue to do so. My motorsports journey has been a rewarding one and allowed me to meet so many interesting people. While the focus so often is the performance of the car, in reality it is all the various personalities, from team mates to competitors to officials to fans that I remember the most. I have loved being part of part of different teams and sharing the experience with so many great friends. I want to thank everyone who made this possible and helped me along the way. I also wanted to especially thank the fans for their support and friendship. None of this would happen without you buying the tickets and attending the races, so I am grateful for that investment in my passion. It makes me especially happy to see how many people have become race fans during my racing career. At this point in my life, after an amazing season thanks to my friends at Porsche and TAG Huer, I need to take a step back and focus on both my family and my acting career. Dempsey-Proton Racing will continue on racing a Porsche 911 RSR in the World Endurance Championship season. I hope my schedule permits me to enjoy some race weekends at least as a team owner.