Are you ready for the biggest motorsport event of the season?

The 2013 Nurburgring 24 Hours is a motorsport party in the Green Hell with 24 straight hours of non-stop racing action with some of the world’s finest supercars. Over 200 vehicles will be taking to the longest racetrack in the world, and luckily it’ll be live streamed so we can all catch the action. (Though please note, the live stream may not work depending on your location.

The Subaru broadcast will begin on May 18, 2013 at 5:00 AM EST until 8:00 AM EST and will resume on the 19th at 10:00 AM EST to the race finish.

2013 Nurburgring 24 Hours Live Stream

2013 Nurburgring 24 Hours Live Map

RadioLeMans

Subaru UStream Live

Toyota / Lexus / Gazoo Racing Live Stream

The Nissan DeltaWing partnership may have been discontinued, but that hasn’t stopped the Japanese automaker from bringing a new race car to life.

Ben Bowlby, the man who designed the DeltaWing, will once again design the next hybrid race car for Nissan, which will be competing in the 2014 Le Mans 24-hour race as a “Garage 56″ entry. Garage 56 entries are reserved for cars that showcase alternative energy.

SEE ALSO: Nissan, DeltaWing Project Partnership Discontinued

The project will be overseen by Ray Mallock’s RML operation, which also had its hands in the DeltaWing project. The new hybrid race car will be capable of running solely on electric power for short periods though the final configuration of the drivetrain is still being discussed, according to Andy Palmer of Nissan.

Though it won’t be the DeltaWing all over again, Palmer did say that it’ll be “as visually arresting as the DeltaWing.”

[Source: Autocar UK]

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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Porsche, the German automaker has unveiled its latest 911 RSR race car which will be campaigned this race season by the Porsche AG Team Manthey works squad.

The new GT race car will compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Improving on its successful predecessor, the 911 GT3 RSR, the new 911 RSR’s wheelbase has grown about 10 cm while a new wishbone front suspension replaces the previously used McPherson struts. In addition, another new development to the car includes a lightweight racing gearbox consisting of six gears and paddle shifted through the steering wheel.

The 911 RSR is powered by a 4.0-liter, six-cylinder boxer engine with an output of 460 hp. But the most important factor in developing the 911 RSR was to create a more evenly balanced weight distribution. As a result, the center of gravity is significantly lower than before while carbon fiber helps spring plenty of weight.

Competing in the Porsche 911 RSR with starting number 92 are Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria), while Romain Dumas (France) will join in Silverstone, Spa, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

GALLERY: 2013 Porsche 911 RSR

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After announcing that it will return to Le Mans after a 35-year hiatus, Alpine-Renault has unveiled its N°36 race car that will make its track debut at the official European Le Mans Series (ELMS) test days at Paul Ricard, France, on March 26-27.

Powered by a Nissan V8 engine, the N°36 packs 500 hp that’s transferred through a six-speed sequential X-Trac gearbox. Weighing in at 1,984 pounds, the N°36 has a top speed of 205 mph.

SEE ALSO: Renault Alpine Returning to Le Mans After 35 Years

Drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues will be behind the wheel of the new race car, and joining them at the Le Mans 24 Hours will be Tristan Gommendy. All three French drivers rose up through the ranks of the French automaker’s single-seater formula and combined have 10 previous appearances at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Reserve driver will be Paul-Loup Chatain.

“Since the announcement of Alpine’s revival on November 5 last year, we have been moving forward step by step,” said Bernard Ollivier, Alpine-Caterham’s CEO. “The unveiling of this splendid car marks the beginning of another phase. It will turn a wheel for the first time very soon, and its maiden race will follow shortly afterwards. The news of our endurance racing programme received a very positive welcome, not only from diehard Alpine enthusiasts, but also from the world of motor racing in general. We can hardly wait to see our brand’s colours in action!”

GALLERY: Alpine N°36

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Audi is working on a new hypercar that will act as the brand’s halo sports car, and some new details on the project are starting to trickle out.

“It wouldn’t make sense to use anything but the R18′s racing engine in the Scorpion,” an inside source revealed to Car and Driver.

The new hypercar is known internally as Scorpion, and will use a modified version of the 3.7-liter V6 TDI engine that powers the brand’s R18 e-tron Quattro Le Mans race car. That diesel engine will be combined with a front-mounted hybrid system, specifications on which are still unknown.

SEE ALSO: Audi Diesel-Hybrid Supercar Championed by R&D Boss

In race car form, the engine intakes are restricted, which allows to the motor to put out more than 500 hp and more than 625 lb-ft of torque, which theoretically could be boosted in the production car.

The car is backed by Audi research and development chief Wolfgang Dürheimer, who wants a Le Mans inspired street legal car to help promote the brand, and its racing efforts.

[Source: Car and Driver]

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Honda has made clear its intentions to take the NSX racing, both in its home country of Japan, and America, and with the announcement of a new technical partnership today that becomes a step closer to reality.

In a statement today, Honda Performance Development and Magneti Marelli S.p.A. have announced a technical partnership to co-develop new components for use in racing. Magneti Marelli is perhaps best know for manufacturing components that control robotized manual transmissions, from dual-clutch versions on street cars, to racing versions on Formula One cars.

Initially the two entities will work on development of powertrain component for use in Honda’s future IndyCar open wheel race cars, though from there it will extend to sports car racing, including the future combined American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am series, as well as even the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

While Honda has yet to confirm this road racing plan includes the Acura NSX, it’s a major hint. Honda’s mention of the WEC is also a clear indication that the Japanese automaker intends to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is one of the eight races in that series.

GALLERY: Acura NSX Concept

For the first time in 35 years, Renault will be competing in the European Le Mans Series this year with its Alpine brand.

With Alpine’s first new production car expected to hit the market in 2016, Renault is hoping to drum up interest through racing in the mean time, including an entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In the past, Alpine competed in the world famous 24-hour endurance race 11 times between 1963 to 1978, running a total of 55 factory cars. In total, the Alpine brand collected seven class wins, and an outright victory in 1978 with the Alpine A442B prototype.

For this return to Le Mans, Alpine has teamed up with Signatech and the team will enter with an Alpine LM P2 prototype powered by a 500 hp Nissan engine for the five rounds of the European Le Mans Series.

“Alpine’s return to the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013 marks the beginning of a new adventure which is set to last,” said Carlos Tavares, Chief Operating Officer Renault. “The passion that drives us is matched only by the humility and careful attention paid to costs that epitomise this comeback which itself has been made possible thanks to the involvement of our partners and supporters who I would like to thank formally here. Together, step by step, we will do our very best to write another exciting page in the history of Alpine, a truly outstanding name in the world of French sports cars.”

GALLERY: Renault Alpine Returns to Le Mans Series

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Nissan has announced that it’ll return to the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours with an innovative project showcasing electric technology.

The new project race car will be led by Nismo and will follow up on the DeltaWing experimental race car that competed in last year’s Le Mans race. Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn hinted that a new approach to innovation and excitement will be the project’s core, and confirmed that the automaker will return as the “Garage 56″ entry for innovative concepts with an all-new race car featuring electric technology.

SEE ALSO: Nissan, DeltaWing Project Partnership Discontinued

“We will return to Le Mans with a vehicle that will act as a high-speed test bed in the harshest of environments for both our road car and race car electric vehicle technology,” said Mr. Ghosn.

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Nissan just cut ties with the DeltaWing race car project, which was never Nissan’s despite the car wearing its logo.

Instead, Nissan had a partnership with the cars creators and provided the 1.6-liter RML-tuned engine that powers it. The news follows Tuesday’s announcement that the DeltaWing project will include new engines and chassis configurations including a closed cockpit car due in May.

It isn’t entirely clear why the split occurred, but Nissan global motorsports director’s comment could hint at the underlying cause. He said Nissan is ”committed to developing innovative and exciting cars both on the track and on the road.”

Nissan says it will continue to support the project from the sidelines, but new versions of the car will also now include a larger twin-turbo 1.9-liter engine based on Mazda’s production 2.0-liter MXR motor. In production form, that engine powered the MX-5 since 2006.

Output from that engine is expected to be around 345 hp and 350 lb-ft or torque.

This DeltaWing suffered devastating setbacks when it was pushed off the track during its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car suffered a devastating crash during a practice session at Road Atlanta as well that almost kept it from racing during the Petit Le Mans.

[Source: Speed]

As Porsche readies its return to Le Mans racing in 2014 with an all-new LMP1 race car, the German automaker has taken the time to reflect on its past campaigns and dominance in the racing series.

In 2014, Porsche will not only compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but also the World Endurance Championship. The team is currently readying its new race car for its 2014 campaign, but will see competition next year in the GTE class with a new 911 RSR race car.

SEE ALSO: Porsche LMP1 Race Car Set 2013 Debut

Over the decades, Porsche has gathered up 16 overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including seven in a row between 1981 to 1987. Enjoy some videos of Porsche reliving its glory years participating in Le Mans below.

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Porsche is hard at work preparing its new LMP1 race car, with the German automaker planning for a mid-2013 debut.

The new LMP1 sports prototype will be run by Porsche’s own works team based in Weissach and will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours race and in the World Endurance Championship series.

The LMP1 project will be headed by Fritz Enzinger while Porsche’s Head of Motorsport Hartmut Kristen will continue to be responsible for all other motorsport programs worldwide for the German automaker.

For the 2013 season, Porsche will continue its support in GT racing, offering teams an upgrade package to position the GT3 R to be an even more formidable car on the race track.

“In factory sport the regulations must be based on technology while in customer racing a stronger alignment of the relative strength by Balance of Performance measures is legitimate,” said Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Research and Development.

Porsche will be making a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, competing in the GTE class with two 991-based 911 RSR race cars.

The team will also compete in the 2013 World Endurance Championship (WEC), which should please Porsche fans until the German automaker unleashes its LMP1 competitor in 2014.

It will be the Porsche AG Team Manthey that will be competing next season and the German automaker has confirmed that the new 911 RSR is being developed by its engineers and tested by its works drivers. Managing the team will be Olaf Manthey, whose accolades include five overall wins with Porsche at the Nurburgring 24 Hours race and recently campaigned a 911 GT3 RSR in the International GT Open.