Subaru will be represented by Subaru Tecnica International (STI) at this year’s 24-hour of Nurburgring race. Rolling in their new and improved 2011 WRX STI “ts”, the STI team has been very busy testing and tuning in order to compete in the SP3t class. Most recently the STI NBR Challenge 2011, the nickname for the race car, did some testing out at Fuji Speedway.

The car will be powered by a 2.0 Boxer DOHC with a twin scroll turbo pushing out 335-hp and 340 ft-lbs of torque. It’ll be mated to a 6-speed transmission with a front, center and rear LSD. Suspension will be handled by Bilstein while it’ll race on Dunlop tires wrapped around BBS wheels.

Obviously a huge collection of STI products will be on the race car, from clutch and flywheel to trunk spoiler and drive shaft.

Official press release available after the break.

GALLERY: STI NBR Challenge 2011

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It’s not every day that you get to see a bespoke Ferrari emerge through the design process, but 2011′s Baller Of The Year James Glickenhaus (we just awarded him that title on the spot) has been kind enough to share photos of his custom made Ferrari race car with the interior, in what might be the most expensive “build thread” ever.

The latest batch of pictures show the car’s carbon fiber structure essentially complete, with some chassis components sitting in boxes, although the front brake rotors appear to be attached. With many of the car’s components coming from a cannibalized F430 Scuderia, this one-off should be a fearsome competitor when it takes on the 24 Hours of Nurburgring sometime next year.

Gallery: P 4/5 Competizione

Porsche‘s 918 Spyder is set to contest the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 2011, making it the second  hybrid Porsche to compete in the grueling endurance race, with the 911 GT3R Hybrid being the first. The 918 Spyder made its debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March, and boasts (theoretical) numbers like 718 horsepower, 90 miles per gallon and a 7 minute 30 second Nurburgring time.

We can’t verify the accuracy of Porsche’s figures, but we do know that the hybrid system in the GT3R is enough to extend fuel efficiency to the point where the Porsche can go one extra lap before it has to refuel, giving it a huge advantage relative to conventionally powered cars.

Porsche is rumored to be putting the 918 Spyder intro production, and it’s hard to imagine a better way to build buzz than to enter it into a well-known endurance race. It seemed to work for Lexus.

Gallery: Porsche 918 Spyder

[Source: Autoblog]

Toyota announced that they have no intention of returning to Formula 1, labeling the sport as “elitist” and a bad fit with the company’s customer base.

The sour grapes come from Tadashi Yamashina, the head of Toyota’s international racing program. Yamashina said that the company would focus on “grassroots” motorsports like Nascar and endurance racing such as the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. While both series are ultra-expensive and the pinnacle of technology, Yamashina called them “grassroots” in the context of fan access (himself stating “I think the best kind of races are those in which people can get in close to the race,”) rather than actual grassroots racing series, which have seen significant support by fellow Japanese automaker Mazda.

Ironically, Toyota has a notorious reputation in motorsports circles for cheating, being banned from the World Rally Championship, caught with stolen Ferrari data in Formula 1 and being caught red-handed trying to alter dyno results in NASCAR.

[Source: Automotive News]