A rare combination of Hollywood and racing history, the Gulf livery racing suit that Steve McQueen wore for the movie Le Mans was sold in a California auction for a steep $800,000. After fees and taxes are taken into account, the total sum is actually $984,000.

Porsche has put to motion an international Youth Development Programme to foster young drivers as the German automaker prepares an expansion of its racing involvement and its entry into the LMP1 class at Le Mans for 2014.

Even though Audi hasn’t announced any details on their 2012 race program, including its driver line-up for the year, that hasn’t stopped them from making a grand appearance testing a pair of 2012 LMP1 race cars at Sebring Raceway.

Porsche is determined to improve their hybrid technologies and the best place to do that is on the race track. For the 2012 race season, Porsche has further developed its 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car, and will be putting it to the test once again. Exactly where or when, however, has not been revealed.

Derived from the  highly successful GT3 class Le Mans sports racer that has won some 110 races and 15 championship titles across the pond, Audi‘s new R8 Grand Am has successfully completed its testing program and is now virtually ready to compete in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car series for 2012, with the first cars slated to be made available to customers in January.

When all the smoke and dust cleared, 83 spectators had died and an additional 120 people were injured. Levegh had also lost his life in this tragic accident.

It’s hard to believe Audi was able to improve their highly successful R8 LMS GT3 race car, but they’ve just announced that the R8 LMS ultra will be launched in 2012, with deliveries starting in March. Current R8 LMS customers have won a combined 115 races and 12 national and international titles in just three years.

Toyota has announced its three-man tea of pro racers, who will pilot the brand’s hybrid LMP1 car in the 2012 Le Mans and other races. The list includes former F1 driver and winner of the 2009 24 Hours of Le mans (under Peugeot) Alex Wurz, Team Oreca pilot and last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring winner Nicolas Lapierra and former F1 racer Kaxuki Nakakima.

In the world of motorsports, it’s nearly impossible for a new team to come out of the box and be competitive. So what is a novice group that is looking for success to do? Simple, partner with one of the most successful teams in the sport.

The only Japanese manufacturer to ever win the prestigious 24-Hours of Le Mans so far has been Mazda with its 787B. Toyota has been wanting to change that for nearly two decades now. Their last effort in the LMP1 class failed, but next year they’ll be back with a vengeance, using a hybrid racer.

It’s been over a decade since Toyota competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and when the Japanese auto giant returns next year to the world famous motorsports venue it will change the race forever. That’s because Toyota’s new race car will use a hybrid-electric drivetrain.

110 years ago, Henry Ford entered a 10-lap, 10-mile race at the Detroit Driving Club in Grosse Point, Michigan in his self-built race car called “Sweepstakes”. Going up against heavily-favored Alexander Winton, Henry Ford took the surprising win that ultimately changed automotive manufacturing forever. With his win, the Ford Motor Company got the funding it needed to launch less than two years later. At this year’s SEMA Show, Ford is celebrating its 110 years of racing heritage by bringing some of its most iconic race cars to the huge convention.

This coming Sunday, October 9th, a very special event will air on Versus at 3 pm Eastern Time. It’s the Duel in the Desert, a special edition of the Viper Cup race series, where a talented collection of drivers and motorsports heros, from all different forms of the genre, race against each other at Miller Motorsports Park, in Toole, Utah.

After a 71 year absence from Le Mans, Bentley returned in 2001, but with little success and in-house competition with Audi the decision was made to drop the Speed 8 LMP1 program in 2003. The team did go out with a bang, however, taking the checked flag at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – due in part to a lack of participation by Audi.

Audi‘s LMP team is coming back to the United States, debuting the R18 TDI in American soil for the first time and challenging for victory at the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta.

Happening right now out in Cologne, Germany is Gamescom, the world’s largest trade fair and event for video games and entertainment. And with all the passionate automotive enthusiasts in Germany, it’s no surprise that Sony wanted to make a statement in their booth by teaming up with Audi to show off a whole new way to play Gran Turismo 5. Custom built by quattro GmbH in Neckarsulm, the PlayStation Racing Simulator that’s currently setup at the booth is a full-on carbon-black Audi R8 LMS imitation race car.

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the most successful race car the German automaker has ever offered. Porsche has sold 2,200 GT3 Cup units and is the most popular choice amongst racing teams all over the world.The GT3 Cup currently competes in 19 Porsche brand trophy series worldwide and runs in various GT race series and at long distance events. The GT3 Cup is based on the lighweight 997 911 GT3 RS sports car and features a 100-liter FT3 safety fuel tank.

Rumors surfaced late last month that Toyota Motorsport in Germany was developing a Le Mans GT race car based on the Lexus LFA. Now photos have surfaced of what is believed to be the upcoming Lexus LFA GTE racer that will be a future competitor in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There are of course no concrete details behind the LFA GTE and what it will be packing in order to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.

As you can tell from its styling, this car is loosely based on the 996-model 911. However, apart from the doors, every body-panel has been reshaped. This car is much bigger and wider than any other 996.

Jaguar hasn’t won at Le Mans since 1990, or when the XJS was just starting to get long in the tooth. But parent company Tata is interested in a return to the prototype class, with an LMP1 car of its own.

In this latest episode of Corvette Racing’s Track to Street, the spotlight is shone on the mechanics who are all too often forgotten about on race day. The car and drivers receive all the glory but its the team of mechanics and engineers that perfect the ins and outs, so that the car and driver are a well oiled machine.

In this 3 minute video, the mechanics share their insight and experiences on racing, with the crew chiefs stressing the importance of organization. The crew chief also explains how crucial communication is, so that every member of the racing team is aware of their duty on race day. It is easy to forget that the team has jobs to do before, during, and after the race.

Check out the video after the jump!

This is the only race series around the world in which four different types of fuels are being used, namely E10, E85, diesel and isobutanol. Also, apart from the result of championship points given to teams and drivers respective of their finish in the race, ALMS also awards a championship within a championship to the greenest team on the grid.

In this 14 minute video, Audi takes the viewer through all that goes into competing and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The video takes an in depth look into the all-new sophisticated R18 TDI race car and all the people working for the Audi racing team. The video is very entertaining whether hearing from Audi’s top executives or the race car drivers themselves and features some great slow motion shots of the Audi race car going airborn and some terrific angles of Le Mans car crashes.

Check out the video after the jump!

When Porsche returns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in search of its 17th overall victory in 2014 the famed German sports car maker could rely on hybrid power to do so admits motorsports boss Hartmut Kristen.

This weekend, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Porsche will have on display a range of iconic cars that celebrate the firm’s innovative approach to both performance and motorsport.

Porsche has more overall wins than any other automaker at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the German automaker plans to add one more victory to its list in 2014. That’s the year Porsche has announced it will re-enter the series in the top-tier LMP1 class, with a new factory-backed prototype race car.

“Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand” said Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. “So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivalled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.”

Porsche’s last success in the LMP1 class at Le Mans came in 1998 with the 911 GT1. Since then the team has had a successful LMP2 Class run in the American Le Mans Series and even raced those cars at Le Mans. Recently Porsche has had success with its 911s in the GT Class category and has been testing a new GT3 R Hybrid. That hybrid technology could become the backbone of the LMP1 program with Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, commenting that, “the integration of our hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”

The automaker has released the below video on its YouTube channel, highlighting its success at what is likely the world’s most famous racing event. Watch the video after the jump:

Chrysler is playing with the idea of returning to international GT competition with the next generation of Viper. Chysler dominated with the original Viper in the GTS class with wins at Le Mans 24 Hours from 1998-2000. The American automaker is looking at the possibility of taking on BMW, Ferrari, Chevrolet and Porsche in the GTE category.

The famous 1991 24-Hours of Le Mans winner, the Mazda 787B will be featured at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ex-Formula 1 driver and Le Mans veteran Mike Wilds and current Mazda works driver Mark Ticehurst will be racing the 787B up the hallowed Goodwood hill for the festival this weekend. The race car returns to mark the 20th anniversary of its famous victory in the demanding 24-Hours of Le Mans.

German driver Andre Lotterer will be racing one of two Lexus LFAs that will compete in this weekend’s race, marking the fourth consecutive year that the Japanese supercar is competing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race.

Since this famous, annual race began in 1923, Mazda is the only Japanese car company to have won this prestigious race (in 1991). Toyota had tried to conquer the ‘Circuit de la Sarthe’ in both 1998 and 1999 with the GT-One (pictured), and while they had an extremely quick race car, its fuel consumption and some technical issues prevented it from getting to the top of the podium.

Marking the 20th anniversary of  Mazda‘s victory in the world’s most demanding endurance race, the 24 Hour of Le Mans, Mazda has brought the winning Mazda 787B back from the dead.

Mazda’s 787B made history in 1991 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by becoming the first Japanese car to win the event. It’s victory lap was also its last as after 1991, rotary engines could not participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jonny Herbert, who was behind the wheel 20 years ago, donned his nomex and racing helmet once again to hit the track. Mazda racer and TV star Patrick Dempsey also got a chance behind the wheel. Watch videos of the outing, plus an overview video of the 787B car’s 20th anniversary celebration after the jump!

Oliver Gavin, British racing driver of the No.74 Corvette C6.R, and four time winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans takes us on a lap around the infamous track in his race car. This well done video allows the viewer to experience the track as Gavin explains the technique and driving style required to execute a lap on this 8.3-mile complicated track. The viewer observes from the driver seat and street level along with Gavin’s narration.

Check out the pro-drivers lap after the jump!

Are you a racing enthusiast? if so, you may be interested in the ultimate Corvette prize package. In recognition of  Corvette Racing  just winning the 24 hours of Le Mans, Chevrolet will be giving away a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible ($62,715) to a lucky winner. The winner also gets to travel to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, on a five day, four night vacation in June 2012. The winner will also receive air fare for two, hotel accommodation, and $800 travel allowance.

This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans has only just finished ( and what a race it was), but some teams are already making plans for 2012. No, we’re not talking about Audi or Corvette Racing, but a newcomer to the series, GreenGT. And the team won’t just be piloting a new car, but a whole new method of getting around the track, with the GreenGT LMP H2 race car an electric vehicle.

The ACO (Automobile Club de L’Ouest), which is responsible for the Le Mans race, has confirmed the car will compete in an experimental race class, meaning it won’t be up against the top dogs, but it will be racing, using a hydrogen-powered electric engine which is expected to make around 402-hp and what will likely be more torque than the whole rest of the field put together.

Unconvinced? Check out the video of the car testing on track after the jump:

Audi has re-affirmed its dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, clinching its 10th overall victory at the race, with all of those titles coming in the past 12 years. Rather than the outright mastery we’ve seen in the past, the odds were against Audi this time around with two-time champ Allan McNish ending his run at the title just an hour into the race with a spectacular crash. ( Watch the video here).

During the 8th hour of the race near-tragedy struck again for Audi with the No. 1 car driven by Mike Rockenfeller careening into a guardrail in an impact so violent it split the car in two. In fact, it brought out a two hour caution period as teams worked to reconstruct the track’s safety barriers.

For the next 16 hours the Audi Sport Team Joest No. 2 car driven by Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer held off a trio of diesel-powered Peugeots to take the win, with the nearest Peugeot crossing the finish line 13 seconds behind the lone Audi R18.

In the hotly contested GTEPro class, it was Corvette Racing rising to the challenge. The No. 74 Compuware Corvette C6.R took the lead in the first hour of the race and held onto it until a crash in with under six hours to go. The crash placed AF Corse’s Ferrari F458 Italia in the lead, which was then overtaken by the No. 73 Corvette with three hours to go. Driving duties were shared by Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner and Olivier Beretta – with this latest victory at Le Mans being his sixth.

In case you missed it, check out the video of Allan McNish’s crash after the jump:

On their Twitter and Facebook pages, you’ll be able to get real-time video and telemetry of the race as it happens, so fans can feel closer to the action, even if they weren’t able to travel to France in time for this weekend’s race. Fans can tune into www.twitter.com/Audi__Sport and www.facebook.com/AudiSport to get all the action. Plus the free “Audi Sport” iPhone app will offer a live ticker.

Honda is truly out to prove a point that CR-Z owners can have their cake and eat it too. This isn’t the first time we’ve spotted Honda’s CR-Z Racer, created by Honda Performance Development (HPD). The vehicle debuted at SEMA 2010 and hit the track at the Thunderhill 25 Hours. And now it’ll show its stuff in front of a huge crowd at one of the most famed races in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Nissan Leaf Nismo RC will perform two demonstrations, Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon at the Le Mans Vers Le Futur, in celebration of the 79th anniversary of the event (June 11-12).

It will be interesting to see how electronic vehicles like the Nismo RC shape the world of motorsports while attaining zero-emissions.

Check out the video after the jump!

This weekend’s famed 24 Hours of Le Mans race will have full coverage thanks to Speed TV and Corvette Racing. Though only 17 hours of live coverage will be done on television, Corvette Racing and Speed TV will be hosting an additional seven hours of content, including a live stream of in-car coverage from one of the Corvette Racing machines. The No. 73 Chevrolet Corvette will play host to the live stream as it seeks out its seventh class win at Le Mans.

Several weeks back Mazda announced it would return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, showcasing its 787B race car, which took the overall win back in 1991.

Nissan has announced that its Leaf Nismo RC Concept race car concept will be making two demonstration runs at the Le Mans Vers Le Futur, in celebration of the 79th anniversary of the event (June 11-12).

Possibly one of the most infamous Porsche race teams in the world, Flying Lizard has paid homage to Porsche racing history with their newest livery on their first-ever two-car line up for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their #80 911 GT3 RSR will be campaigned in the GTE Pro class while their #81 car will be in the GTE Am class. Three drivers will be appointed to each vehicle for the 24 hour race with Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Lucas Luhr in the #80 car while Darren Law, Seth Neiman and Spencer Pumpelly will be in the #81 racer.

There have been rumors that Audi could make the jump into Formula 1, however the automaker is adamant that it won’t be the company to do so. According to the company’s motorsport boss, F1 bears “no relevance to the road”.

Marking the 20th anniversary of Mazda‘s victory in the world’s most demanding endurace race, the 24 Hour of Le Mans, Mazda has brought the winning Mazda 787B back from the dead.

There’s some irony in a racing version of a street-legal car getting its own street-legal version—but there’s never anything wrong with welcoming an even faster supercar into the world. And now the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, a car with a name seemingly handpicked from a bag of Scrabble pieces, will be getting its own license-plated edition.

McLaren is going back to sports car racing in a big way. It’s assembled a new division, dubbed McLaren GT, which includes McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing. Along with CRS Racing, the group launched the MP4-12C GT3 and has announced plans for a full racing development program in 2011.

The new GT3 will be homologated for the FIA GT3 Sports Car series and its return to the track will mark the first time McLaren has competed since 1997. It features much of the same engineering and technology as its street going counterpart, but the engine has been tuned specifically for racing (said to develop around 500 metric horsepower) and the GT3 will feature a specific bespoke race gearbox and suspension tuning.

The car is set to make its competition debut this year at the Blancpain Endurance Series race at the Circuito de Navarra in Northern Spain, followed by events at Magny-Cours (France) and Silverstone (Great Britain) and will be driven by CRS Principal Andrew Kirkaldy, along with 2010 McLaren Mercedes test driver Oliver Turvey and Portuguese wheelman Alvaro Parente.

The car has already undergone extensive testing and McLaren hopes to have some 20 examples ready for privateer teams to run in 2012. For more information on the company’s new GT3 program, hit the jump to see the official video.

Michael Waltrip is said to be racing at Le Mans this June, becoming the latest in a succession of stock car drivers to try their hand at the grueling 24 hour race.

With an eye toward fostering electric-powered F1 competition, Jean Todt, president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), said it plans to begin with electric auto, go-kart, and single-seater racing.

Arguably the most exciting part of this weekend’s Le Mans series race in France wasn’t the racing – but the crashing.

While anything from trading paint to end-overs always draws excitement (just ask the legions of NASCAR fans), it’s as much the reason for this crash as what happened that’s so interesting.

Taking place at the famed Paul Ricard circuit, the lights went green to start the race, but the Audi pace car had not left the track. The field immediately began to accelerate, only to then resort to braking in a hurry so as not to pass (or run into) the safety car. Unfortunately for those at the back of the pack, the front straight at Paul Ricard comes after a bump in the track, so that those at the back of the pack can’t see the front-runners – although they can see the race lights. With the prototypes braking and the GT cars still accelerating, a pileup was inevitable. The resulting crashes took out four of the five competitors in the GTE-AM Class, leaving the one untouched car to top the podium.

[Source: AxisofOversteer]

Watch the video after the jump:

With the anticipation growing for Audi‘s R18 LMP1 race car to hit the track competitively, Audi is probably wishing it’ll happen sooner themselves. After losing out at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Audi may be looking forward to getting the R18 out on the track in order to replace the current R15 race cars.

GT Academy’s American chapter is now also looking to find their next star, and are hoping to turn the process into a reality TV show. More than 52,000 contestants signed up for this competition, and the list dwindled down to just 32. These virtual racers then went on to compete in further tests in Orlando, Fl. but only half have advanced through. So now the ‘Sweet 16’ virtual racers will go to the Silverstone racetrack in U.K. to compete in the final competition. These new tests will test a person’s physical fitness and actual skill in a race car.

Ever wanted to travel through the wine region of France with your friends in a gaggle of rare, expensive Ferrari s? If you day dream about such stuff, not to worry, you are not alone, and now thanks to two companies combining their resources, it can come true.

Baring any surprises, with over an hour left at the American endurance classic, it was obvious that the No. 10 diesel-powered Peugeot driven by Loic Duval would take the checkered flag. With the win, Peugeot successfully defended its victory from 2010.

The great American Le Mans Series begins this weekend at the wonderful 12 Hours of Sebring. And with all first races of the season, great anticipation brews for new race car debuts and at the top of everybody’s list is Risi Competizione’s Ferrari 458 GTC. Luckily for us, Risi Competizione brought along a photographer out on their test days and has finally reveals some photos of the car in race form to the world.

Meet the 2011 Aston Martin AMR-One race car: the new prototype race car designed for the Le Mans LMP1-spec class, with snazzy Gulf livery, a (very British) 007 racing number, and a 2.0-liter inline-six engine.

Nissan fans will rejoice at the brand’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans race this year.

Back in 2002, Cadillac campaigned the LM-02 racer. After two years of dismal results, this car, LM-02-002, was a lone bright light for the team’s efforts, placing 9th at Le Mans and landing on the podium four times in the American Le Mans Series.

The Gulf Oil orange and blue livery is an iconic paint job that has transcended Gulf Oil’s demise into relative obscurity, with the classic colors still appearing on all kinds of racing merchandise, and even the Ford GT road car during its production run.

One collector of fine automobiles decided he liked the Gulf paint job so much, he bought all 14 of the cars that ever appeared. With storied names like Brabham, McLaren, Aston Martin and Porsche included (among them the greatest racer of all time, the 917), the price paid for the cars must have been nothing short of extravagant.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Hit the jump to see the list of Gulf Oil cars sold