The team of racers assembled from the Nissan Playstation GT Academy earned themselves a remarkable honor at the Dubai 24 Hour race this weekend, finishing third in their class and 26th overall. All four drivers, Lucas Ordoñez, Jordan Tresson, Bryan Heitkotter and Jann Mardenborough, are GT Academy grads, having started out behind the wheel of virtual race cars to win the opportunity to attend the GT Academy racing program.

The team qualified the #100 car fourth in their class and despite some mechanical issues the four drivers endured all 24 hours of the race without any damage to the Nissan 370Z while earning a podium finish.

This is truly an unprecedented achievement in the world of motorsports. As we all know, it’s tough enough to earn a podium finish as a professional racer with a complete team backing you up. So to take four virtual gamers from Gran Turismo, train them – with Heikotter and Mardenborough having less than a year to go from gamer to racer – and to finish third in the class, the GT Academy should be extremely proud.

Who said video games are a waste of time?

With the passing of the Volvo V70 and VW Passat in North America, European wagons are becoming harder to come by. But BMW is considering bringing the 5-Series Touring back to our shores to make up for disappointing 5-Series Gran Turismo sales figures.

Nothing has been confirmed, however some sources have learned that the comeback may be a strong possibility. Sales of the 5-Series GT haven’t been particularly exceptional, but the model outsold the previous 5-Series Touring since its arrival last year, even with its controversial appearance and mundane reception.

GALLERY: BMW 5-Series Touring

[Source: Autoblog]

Ferrari will offer a special winter driving course in Aspen, Colorado, with the goal of elevating driver skill and enhancing appreciation for the all-season FF GT, which hits dealerships this fall.

The program stems from the “Pilota on Ice” program recently offered in Italy, and the all-new and all-wheel drive FF will be the star of the program. Sessions will begin in January, and will run for 6-7 weeks, exclusively for Ferrari owners. The program will allow owners to experience the FF’s AWD system in snow and icey conditions. The 4RM all-wheel drive system was designed to retain the sporty dynamic driving characteristics of a traditional Ferrari, in low grip situations. Aspen offers a beautiful setting to test out the vehicle on a custom-made snow and ice course, where the FF truly comes to life.

More information on the winter driving program will become available in late summer.

[Source: Team Speed]

Specialty tuner Imperium prides itself on creating one-off bespoke custom vehicles for high-end clients, working closely with the vehicle’s owner to make their wildest dreams come true. Most recently Imperium decided to reveal a customer’s Bentley Continental GT in order to show off to the world what the possibilities are when you bring your vehicle to them. The end result is a completely custom Continental GT, featuring plenty of one-off parts including its body kit and wheels.

Imperium’s designers began by sketching concept art design for the client, working back and forth until this well-known UK entrepreneur was satisfied with how the end result would look. The unique one-off body kit consists of front and rear apron upgrades, carbon-exposed side skirts, a subtle trunk spoiler and a rear carbon diffuser. All of the body components were manufactured in the UK using lightweight carbon fiber and has a flawless fit and finish.

Similar to the kit, the wheels are one-off and designed specifically to cater to the wants of the client, sporting an aggressive mesh design that truly gives the Continental GT a sporty look. Imperium also increased the performance of the Continental GT by equipping it with its own sport exhaust system (you guessed it, custom built to the client’s preference) and ECU upgrade. No power numbers were mentioned however. And of course, suspension and brake modifications were also done to the Continental GT to complete the look.

As with any bespoke vehicle, the interior has been upgraded on the Continental GT to the client’s choosing, but no details were mentioned. Imperium did state that they’re willing to work with all forms of luxurious leathers, ultra-suede fabric, carbon fiber, wood trim and more to give the customer what they want. More importantly though, each interior package comes with an individually-built steering wheel. Pricing? Don’t bother asking, it wasn’t mentioned. But we’re sure there’s a serious price to pay for having something that’s uniquely yours.

GALLERY: Imperium Bentley Continental GT

Joining Bentley‘s 6.0L twin-turbo W12 powerplant in the near future is a rumored 4.0L V8 that will be more efficient with lower emissions. And now it seems that Bentley will officially unveil the new V8 to the public at next year’s Detroit Auto Show, which will be a nice followup to the refreshed GTC that is planned to be shown at Frankfurt this September.

According to Consumer Search, the lighter engine in the front bay will give the Continental GT a sportier feel while the exhaust will emit a very satisfying note.

Specific details on the new turbocharged V8 have yet to be released, but it is certain to deliver significantly fewer thrills than the twin-turbo W12 engine now in use. But paired with what is expected to be a significantly lower price, this new offering should deliver a healthy sales spike for the British brand.

GALLERY: 2011 Bentley Continental GT

[Source: Consumer Search]

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2011 Bentley Continental GT review

The Blue Angels-themed Mustang GT, built specifically to be sold at a charity auction, fetched a total of $400,000, making up a good chunk of the total $2.2 million raised at the annual EAA AirVenture benefiting the Young Eagles program. The winner didn’t just get himself a wickedly-built blue chrome Mustang GT either. He (or she) also got a Blue Angels flight helmet autographed by all the members of the current team.

The completed Mustang GT features a blue chrome paint job done by Creations ‘n Chrome with hand painted stripes and graphics. The front end comes from a Boss 302 while the custom rear wing does a fantastic job paying homage to the aviation team. The set of HRE 590RS wheels looks right at home on the custom Ford, and gives the car a very classy touch.

On the inside, custom Recaro seats can be found sporting Alcantara fabric, yellow stripes and stitching. The steering wheel gets a similar theme while a trio of gauges can be spotted from the dash. The yellow stripes and stitching theme also continues on the door panels and floor mats, while a Boss 302 Laguna Seca rear seat delete is painted a custom painted yellow.

And to prove that Ford isn’t in the business of just building flashy vehicles with no go, the Blue Angels-themed Mustang would make even those fast-flying pilots proud. Under the hood is Ford Racing’s supercharger system with all the fumes being expelled out of a Ford Mustang exhaust. Ford Racing’s handling package was thrown on to enhance the suspension while braking is now perfect with a set of Brembo front brakes and Ford Racing’s brake ducts.

GALLERY: Blue Angels Ford Mustang GT

[Source: Mustangs Daily]

Gran Turismo’s creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, has taken his GT500 “Stealth” GT-inspired Nissan GT-R to a class victory at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Complete with his team comprised of Tobias Shulze, Michael Schulze and Yasuyoshi Yamamoto, the GT-R battled through a dramatic race full of mechanical issues to claim 36th overall, but first-in-class.

This is a great follow-up to Yamauchi’s class victory last year in a Lexus IS-F in the four-hour Nurburgring VLN race, but this year he didn’t have to settle for fourth place in his class. Despite having to spend time in the pits addressing their mechanical issues, the time was able to officially complete 134 laps in 24 hours, 2 minutes and 26.9 seconds with a fastest lap time of 9:17.707.

Now if only his team of developers could work that quickly on Gran Turismo 6. Check out a video of the GT-R in early Sunday morning action after the break.

[Source: GT Planet]

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There has been a whole lot of buzz around Audi’s R8 GT since its official debut, and now we have the first photos of the lighter and faster exotic sports car hitting the track at Infineon Raceway. This is the R8 GT’s debut on the track in America and a few lucky individuals were able to get behind the wheel of the sports car this past weekend.

Jealous? It’s hard not to be with 560-hp and 398 ft-lbs of torque from the R8 GT’s 5.2L V10.

GALLERY: Audi R8 GT at Infineon Raceway

Audi’s Le Mans participation this year was all forms of glorious, from insane crashes to a triumphant podium finish. But mixed in with the excitement of the actual 24 Hour race was the debut of the 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder. Sporting 560-hp and 398 ft-lbs of torque from its 5.2L V10, the ragtop Audi goes from 0-60 mph in a mere 3.8 seconds, this time with its top down.

And of course we’re loving that Audi showed off the matte blue finish on the Spyder – a color we’d consider if we were so fortunate as to be able to afford one of the just 333 units being made.

GALLERY: 2012 Audi R8 GT Spyder

The first of 333 limited edition Audi R8 GTs was delivered to its rightful owner in the UK this week. Sporting 560-hp, the Audi R8 GT has already been accounted for by future owners in 23 different countries. The first one to hit the streets however will be a Phantom Black R8 GT and we’re hoping it won’t be one of those that end up on our blog wrecked and demolished.

Enhancements to the already potent R8 from Audi makes the R8 GT one of the most exclusive sports cars in the world. It features a hand-built aluminum body constructed of Audi Space Frame and weighs in at merely 463-lbs. By incorporating more carbon fiber throughout the car, Audi also reduces the overall weight of the R8 GT by 220-lbs compared to its R8 5.2 FSI quattro counterpart.

Powered by a 5.2L V10, its 560-hp compared with the 3,362-lb weight of the R8 GT makes for an impressive driving experience. For aesthetics, the R8 GT has subtle differences in its newly designed bumpers in carbon fiber while the interior receives bucket seats. The R8 GT was available with a starting price of $276,780.

GALLERY: Audi R8 GT