For the third straight year in a row Lexus will compete at the Nurburgring 24 Hour race, once again using one of its LFA supercars. And much like the past two years, the team will be operated by Gazoo Racing, which fields Lexus race cars in Japan’s Super GT series.

There’s no word from Lexus yet on what class the LFA will run in but judging from the pictures it seems like a more track-focused model than the past pre-production models. Lexus also isn’t messing around when it comes to racing talent, fielding a team of six Japanese and German drivers with some very impressive resumes. Included among them are six-time Super Taikyu Endurance Series champion Takayuki Kinoshita, 2002 JGTC GT500 winner Akira Iida and 2008 Nürburgring 24 Hour second place finisher Jochen Krumbach.

This year’s Nürburgring 24 Hour races takes place from May 13 to 16th and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on Lexus’ efforts.

News of this new Nürburgring racer comes just a day after rumors of a Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition surfaced.

GALLERY: Lexus LFA Nürburgring Racer

Official release after the jump:

The latest version of the Porsche GT3 RS has posted an impressive Nürburgring lap time, running the ‘Ring in 7:33. The report of the race ready street car’s new lap time comes from the U.K.’s EVO magazine, which says an unnamed Porsche test driver was behind the wheel.

The run was made with other cars on the track and having reviewed several laps of video, the EVO folks say the RS should be good for a 7:30. That’s impressive, but still 2.5 seconds (or 5.5 seconds if you use the 7:33 time), off the GT-R, which recently managed a 7:27.56. Regardless, it’s not like the GT-R is the ‘Ring record holder either, with the Corvette ZR1 having posted a 7:26.4 and the Dodge Viper ACR a 7:22.1 lap time. The Gumpert Apollo makes a big improvement over those times with a 7:11.57, while the Radical SR8LM destroys them all with a 6:48.

Down a solid 30hp on the GT-R and without AWD, its an impressive run for the Porsche. Now we’ll just have to wait until the next GT2 arrives to see if Porsche can finally build a faster Ring-runner than Nissan.

[Source: EVO]

Some video of the Toyobaru spots car lapping the Nürburgring in Germany has found its way on to YouTube. Considering the heavy use of camo used to cover the car up, there’s reason to believe this is the Subaru version of the small sports car, rather than the Toyota model. Toyota has already released numerous images of its car, called the FT-86 in concept form.

Either way, the car looks like a hoot to drive and should offer plenty of fun to a lot of people as the MSRP is expected to be in the low $20,000 range.

We expect to hear more about this car when Toyota officially unveils the FT-86 Concept at the Tokyo Auto Show this Wednesday, October 21st.

GALLERY: Toyota FT-86 Concept

A rather unique looking M3 has been spotted on the Nürburgring and the photos seem to suggest that BMW is prepping a CSL model. BMW execs have denied a light weight and even more performance-oriented M3 is on the way, but with the recovering economy, the demand for such a car and the fact that the idea behind it fits nicely into BMW’s “efficient dynamics” philosophy, the car almost seems like a sure thing.

The spy photos, captured by the U.K.’s AutoExpress show a lower car with a new front lip spoiler and a significantly sized rear spoiler. There is also the matter of the CSL-styled wheels.

If BMW does go through with it, expect the CSL model to come with many of the upgrades fund on the previous (E46) CSL. This would include items like a carbon fiber hood and front bumper, a lighter exhaust, stiffer springs and roll bars and light weight racing seats. Under the hood there should also be some light-weight carbon fiber components (like the intake manifold), some new engine software and possibly a new set of cams could bump up horsepower even higher.

See all the photos here:

BMW M3 CSL Spy Photos

[Source: AutoExpress]

Porsche’s updated 2010 911 Turbo model has cut an impressive 10 seconds off its predecessor’s Nürburgring lap time. The significantly revised sports car can now boast a 7:39 lap time around Germany’s most famous race track.

Unfortunately for Porsche, this time is still more than 10 seconds away from the car’s Japanese rival, the Nissan GT-R, which has managed a 7:27.56 time. Both the Japanese and German sports cars have yet to unseat either of their American competitors, with the Corvette ZR1 managing a 7:26.4, while the Dodge Viper ACR boasts a 7:22.1 lap time.

The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo has a long list of upgrades which includes an all-new, larger 3.8-liter engine that makes 500hp and is mated to an impressive 7-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission. Porsche claims the car can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 194 mph.

[Source AutoCar]

Aston Martin has released a stunning piece of video that shows the company’s new sports sedan driving both the Nürburgring and the famous Stelvio Pass in the Alps.

Dubbed “the most elegant four-door sorts car in the world,” the Rapide is powered by a front-mounted 5.9-liter V12 engine. Power is rated at 470hp at 6000 rpm with 443 ft-lbs of torque coming on strong at 5000 rpm. And if we know Aston, it probably sounds like a wicked beast at about 4000 rpm.

The Rapide will be offered exclusively with a six-seed automatic transmission.

As for the design of the car, it’s all Aston up front and even the rear maintains Aston’s signature subtle duck-tail spoiler, which is integrated into the rear hatch. And of course, all four doors flip slightly upward, just like the rest of the Aston fleet. The cabin of the car seats four with 10.6 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats or 26.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

“Rapide is the culmination of the Aston Martin range of sports cars, a car that seals the revival of a truly admired marque,” said Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez. “There is now an Aston Martin for every taste and for every use. With Rapide, the entire family can enjoy their Aston Martin together in unison, in an invigorating yet comfortable environment, sitting low, with plenty of visibility from every seat and with new levels of comfort, refinement and entertainment.”

GALLERY: Aston Martin Rapide

GALLERY: Aston Martin Rapide at the Frankfurt Auto Show

Nissan’s product planning head has made known plans to keep the GT-R legacy alive with an all-new R36 version of the car expected to debut by at least 2013.

Global product boss Andy Palmer made the comments to the folks at PistonHeads, during a recent visit to Nissan’s Nürburgring Technical Center this week. Palmer cited the hard economic times as the reason to cut certain projects within the company, but cited the importance of the GT-R as a performance halo car. The GT-R helps brand Nissan as a performance car company, much in the same way the upcoming Leaf electric car will help give the Japanese automaker a green appeal.

Palmer didn’t say much about the R36 GT-R other than the fact that we should expect the twin-turbo V6 powerplant to stay in place, as well as the all-wheel drive setup.

Nissan is committed to its flagship sports car and aims to stick to a production schedule that will see them compete with Porsche.

[Source: PistonHeads]

After releasing the limited edition Nissan GT-R SpecV (pictured above) last year, rumors of a more comfort-oriented SpecM model have surfaced. Those rumors have now reportedly been confirmed by GT-R project chief Kazutoshi Mizuno, when he ran into the folks from PistonHeads at Nissan’s Nürburgring test facility.

The SpecM edition is geared slightly more towards luxury but is supposed to offer a very close level of performance to the standard GT-R. The philosophy behind this model is to create another limited edition version with more of a bespoke feel, using higher end materials and a premium audio system.

Contrary to previous reports, Mizuno said that the SpecM will not debut at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month, but will be unveiled some time mid way through 2010.

In addition to this info, Mizuno also mentioned a few details about the 2010 GT-R, stating that it would come with an upgraded suspension, the SpecV’s rear diffuser and NACA ducts will be fitted at the rear of the car for better airflow and improve brake cooling.

Possibly the coolest addition, however, is the optional NISMO data-logging setup that will allow owners to download the data from the GT-R’s ECU on a USB stick so they can study it on their home computer or share it with friends.

Be sure to check out our review of the GT-R SpecV here:

2009 Nissan GT-R SpecV First Drive

[Source: Piston Heads]

With the expected launch of the LF-A grand touring supercar at the Tokyo Auto Show in two months time, Lexus was out recently doing some last minute tweaks at the Nürburgring. The folks over at AutoCar snapped these photos of what appears to be an undisguised production ready version of the LF-A.

Lexus recently revised its expectations for the LF-A, saying that it wouldn’t make 500, but 550hp from a 5.0-liter V10 engine that will rev all the way to 9000 rpm. According to AutoCar the LF-A will have a carbon-composite structure, and will also use carbon-composite brakes with big 20-inch wheels.

Just 500 LF-As are scheduled to be built with a price of almost $500,000. Owners will reportedly be flown to a private track in Spain to be acquainted with their cars, with driving instruction being given by famous Toyota racing drivers.

GALLERY: Lexus LF-A Spy Photos

[Source: AutoCar]

Late last week we reported that the Radical SR8LM had once again demolished the Nürburgring lap record, running the ring in an amazing 6:48. For the record, that’s almost 40 seconds faster than the Nissan GT-R.

Thankfully the blokes at Radical videotaped the whole thing so now we can ride along on this record-setting drive.

“We’ve proved that the SR8LM is not only the world’s best trackday car, but it’s also practical enough to drive to and from the circuit,” said Radical Sportscar’s co-founder Mich Hyde, who said the same set of Dunlop tires was used to drive from the company’s facility in the U.K. to the Nürburgring in Germany and for the test. “It is a genuine production sports car, with genuine performance credentials, as we’ve shown today.”

The Radical SR8LM is powered by a 460hp 2.8-liter V8 engine, fitted into a light-weight chassis with full carbon fiber bodywork.