After seeing the top spot on the podium go to BMW in 2010, Porsche has back on top at the Nurburgring 24 Hour Race with the Manthey Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RSR claiming the victory at what might be the world’s most grueling endurance race. The Manthey racing car has placed first five out of the six past years.

The cockpit was shared by Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr, all of whom have won in the past in a Manthey Racing Porsche.

Just 30 seconds later the BMW Motorsport M3 GT driven by Jorg Muller, Augusto Farfus, Alzen Uwe and Pedro Lamy crossed the finish line, placing second. In third place, rounding out the podium in a Germanic fashion was the Audi R8 LMS driven by Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler, Marcel Fassler and Andrea Piccini sitting in for Mike Rockenfeller, who was injured in a dramatic crash at the 24 Hour of Le Mans.

Audi also took fourth and fifth spots with the first Mercedes team placing sixth.

After a successful run in the fourth round of the Nurburgring Long Distance Championship just a few weeks back, Porsche’s GT3 Hybrid R had a less than impressive result at this, its biggest test. First the car was penalized by race officials, and was forced to use an air intake restrictor, bringing power down to 448-hp (compared to 480-hp). Then, near the end of the race, driver Patrick Long was forced to pit after a spin resulting from contact with a slower car. The GT3 R Hybrid finished just 28th.

Having just unveiled the new Cooper Coupe, MINI is looking to drive home the car’s performance message by competing with a race-prepped version of the two-door at this weekend’s Nurburgring 24 Hour race.

Prepped for race duty the John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance race car gets all the usual equipment like a serious roll cage and a stripped out interior with just one big Recaro race seat. In all, the weight savings totals over 500 lbs compared to the street-going machine, weighing under 2,200 lbs, compared to 2,735 lbs for the road-going version.

The weight reduction will help the Coupe perform better in all areas, while a bump in horsepower will help pull the MINI out of the apexes and down the straights. In total, the turbocharged 1.6-liter now makes 247-hp and 243 lb-ft of torque, compared to 208-hp and 207 lb-ft in the stock JCW model.

Aerodynamic upgrades are also a part of the package with that unmistakably massive adjustable rear wing and huge rear diffuser, while the windshield has been angled 13 percent downward to reduce drag. As for the suspension, it’s been donated by the MINI Challenge race.

MINI will field two JCW Endurance race cars during this weekend’s 39th running of the Nurburgring 24, with both models competing in the SP 3T class.

GALLERY: MINI John Cooper Works Endurance Race Car

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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After announcing the widebody Golf24 race car for competition in this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hour race, Volkswagen has just released video of the car undergoing testing in preparation for its debut.

With the wild DTM-style aerodynamics, the Golf24 makes use of a modified version of the turbocharged 5-cylinder powerplant from the Golf R, making 434-hp and 398 lb-ft of torque.

“With the new Golf24 we are continuing our successful commitment at the Nürburgring 24-hour race. [The race] represents a very big technical challenge…[and] we want to provide an additional highlight in front of a large audience – right in time for the 35th anniversary of the GTI,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.

The Nurburgring 24 Hour race takes place June 25-26th.

GALLERY: Volkswagen Golf24

See the video after the jump:

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Volkswagen just made the famed Nurburgring 24 hour race even more exciting by announcing their Golf24 touring car will compete at the historic endurance event this year.

Along with some seriously aggressive aerodynamics and a much wider track, the Golf24 touring car is powered by a modified 2.5L five-cylinder turbocharged engine that pushes out 398 ft-lbs of torque in addition to its 434-hp. The power plant is combined with a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifters.

“With the new Golf24 we are continuing our successful commitment at the Nürburgring 24-hour race. [The race] represents a very big technical challenge…[and] we want to provide an additional highlight in front of a large audience – right in time for the 35th anniversary of the GTI,” said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.

The Nurburgring 24 Hour race takes place June 25-26th.

GALLERY: Volkswagen Golf24 Touring Car

[Source: Worldcarfans]

Movie producer turned investor and serious car nut James Glickenhaus has just revealed the final renderings of what his P4/5 Competizione race car will look like. Set to compete at next year’s Nurburgring 24 Hour race, the car is a followup to his Ferrari Enzo-based P4/5 supercar that was designed by Pininfarina.

Based on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, the car uses the suspension and V8 engine from the Ferrari F430 GT2 ALMS race car, suggesting that while track-capable, this car could potentially be driven on the street afterward.

There’s no word indication what class the car will compete in, but considering what it is, we expect it to challenge some other creative vehicles in an experimental class.

GALLERY: James Glickenhaus Ferrari P4/5 Race Car

[Source: Facebook]

Shown for the first time on U.S. soil, Aston Martin had on display a racing version of its new Rapide four-door at The Quail. One of the lead-up events to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, The Quail puts the emphasis on motorsports, and what better way to do so than with this four-door race car straight from its inaugural session at the grueling Nürburgring 24 Hour race.

Powered by a 5.9-liter V12, this Aston placed second in the SP8 class for mostly stock vehicles, besting even the V12 Vantage! The Rapide would likely have won, were it not for the Lexus LFA, which took top spot in that class.

Aston hasn’t announced any additional plans to race the car, but here’s hoping we’ll see one some time in the future, trading paint in the World Challenge, Grand Am or ALMS series.

GALLERY: Aston Martin Rapide Race Car

Porsche Works driver Timo Bernhard has just earned his place in the history books, becoming the first driver to ever win all four major endurance races. Bernhard completed the “motorsports grand slam” this past weekend, racing not for Porsche, but for Audi in one of the new R15 race cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 2008 Bernhard won the 12 Hours of Sebring and back in 2003 he topped the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Possibly even more impressive is that Bernhard has won the final race, the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, a four consecutive times from 2006-09.

“Even as a child I dreamt of one day admiring the overall winner trophies of all four long-distance classics in my display cabinet at home,” said Bernhard. “Now, bringing home overall victory in Le Mans, I have made this dream come true.”

Check out the gallery of Bernhards cars and victory celebrations below.

GALLERY: Timo Bernhard’s Motorsports Grand Slam

Official release

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Endurance racing fans are no doubt getting geared up for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, but German videographers Tim and Nick Hahne have just released this stunning HD video from this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hour race. Rather than focusing on the racing action out on the track, the Hahne’s instead provide an intriguing and artistic viewpoint from pit lane.

All 19500 frames of HD video were captured using Canon’s amazing 5D Mark II, a DSLR camera designed primarily for capturing still images but is also a growingly popular choice amongst amateur and professional videographers. With extremely high quality HD video capabilities and a wide range of high quality zoom and fixed lenses, it’s easy to see why automotive journalists (including some of us at AutoGuide) are partial to the 5D Mark II.

’24 Hours in 19500 Frames’ isn’t your typical 3-minute fast-paced internet motorsports video. There’s no tire smoke, no dudes wearing crooked baseball caps flashing the bull horns hand symbol, and no heavy metal sound track. Instead, the Hahne’s have taken a far more artistic approach that provides a real sense of atmosphere at this legendary endurance race, all 13-minutes and 19500 frames of it feeling strangely hypnotic, like a night out at a German motorsports rave. It’s certainly not designed for the Attention Deficit Disorder generation, but regardless of your age we highly recommend you sit back and soak in the ambience and style of the Hahne’s creation, available after the jump.

[Source: Autoblog]

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The Porsche 918 Spyder is hot. Really hot. With looks that will stop anyone, gearhead or not, dead in their tracks, and huge numbers like 718 horsepower and 90 miles per gallon, what’s not to love? TeamSpeed.com forum member “PorscheCarreraGTMay6″ is 13 years old, and decided that Porsche could use some renderings, some inspiration, for turning the 918 Spyder into a GTI racing car for the LeMans series. After all, it’s one number higher than the world’s most famous racing Porsche, the 917, and Porsche has already confirmed they will be entering a 918 in the 2011 24 Hours of Nurburgring, where their 911 GT3R Hybrid competed successfully this year.

“PorscheCarreraGTMay6″ provides us with a naked look at the 918 RSR in classic Porsche silver, but also provides concepts for several well known Porsche racing liveries. Check them all out at TeamSpeed.com, and remember, this kid is 13.

[Source: TeamSpeed]