Revised McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Racer to Debut at Goodwood

The MP4-12C GT3, McLaren’s first race car outside of Formula 1 since the legendary F1 GTR, will make its debut in front of the public at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Based on the new MP4-12C, the GT3 will appear in a revised form after McLaren’s team further honed the supercar.

Changes include a new front radiator that increases the maximum ambient temperature at which the car can perform and a new gearbox cooler. There’s also a new aerodynamics package comprised of a new front splitter, door blade, rear wing, diffuser and louvers in the front bumpers, all made by carbon fibre.

Like the road car, the MP4-12C GT3 racer features a carbon fibre chassis and the same steering wheel as the MP4-24 Formula 1 car. The McLaren GT team will spend the 2011 season developing the GT3 before delivering 20 cars to privateer teams for the 2012 season.

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New MINI JCW Coupe Racer to Debut at 24h of Nurburgring

Well, that was quick. Just three days after unveiling the MINI Coupe, the firm’s first-ever two-seater coupe model, and even though its flagship version won’t be available to the public before autumn, the company presented the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance (yes, that’s quite a mouthful, so we’ll just call it JCW) racer.

And, what’s more, its public debut will be in one of the most demanding endurance races of the world, the Nürburgring 24 hours at the legendary Nordschleife, the place which Jackie Stewart has famously christened “the Green Hell”.

The MINI JCW Endurance is powered by a tuned version of the standard 4-cylinder, 1.6-litre engine that features a twin-scroll turbocharger as well as direct injection.

Power is up to 250 hp, which results in a top speed in excess of 240 km (150 mph), while maximum torque -with the overboost function- reaches 330 Nm (33,6 kgm).

If there’s one thing, other than styling, that the MINI is famous for is its go-kart feeling behind the wheel. Of course, the British firm’s engineers have enhanced it by adding stiffened and adjustable dampers as well as the (obligatory) roll cage, racing seat, 6-point seatbelts and HANS system.

According to MINI the front spoiler, the rear diffuser and the adjustable rear wing of the JCW package generate increased downforce, while the Coupe’s more raked windscreen, compared to the 3-door version, reduces drag.

Last, but not least, and unusually for a racer, the MINI JCW Coupe Endurance features electronic stability control (DSC: Dynamic Control System), which is specially tuned for the track, and the Race ABS from the MINI Challenge.

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VIDEO: Mark Higgins' Awesome Save at 150MPH at the Isle of Man TT

We’ve already told you about former British Rally Champion Mark Higgins’ record lap on the famous Isle of Man TT Mountain Course driving a US specification 2011 Subaru WRX STI in a previous article here, but today, we stumbled upon two in-car video clips, courtesy of Road & Track magazine. Aside from smashing the late Tony Pond’s long-standing record in a Rover 827 Vitesse from 1990 by more than two minutes, Higgins also displayed some amazing driving skills saving the day when the WRX STI started swerving at 150mph (241km/h) after he hit a small bump on the road. In the video you can hear Higgins saying "Biggest moment of my life there...".
Commenting on the incident, Dominick Infante, National Manager, Product Communications, Subaru of America, said: “The WRX STI performed incredibly well at near flat out speeds and Mark drove impeccably. His save at Bray Hill at 150 MPH was some of the best driving any of us have ever seen." Buckle up and watch the two in-car-videos after the break.

Source: Youtube / Road&Track

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Want to Try out the New Caterham-Lola SP/300 R? Here’s How

With the development of the new Caterham-Lola SP/300 R now complete, the British carmaker is ready to give potential owners their first taste of the prototype-racing car on the tarmac. The dates on which racing drivers and trackday enthusiasts alike can get behind the steering wheel of Caterham’s 300bhp, 180mph (289 km/h) sports prototype are:

-Saturday, August 27 at Donington Park
-Wednesday, September 7 at Donington Park
-Thursday, September 15 at Snetterton
-Wednesday, September 21 at Donington Park

Caterham said that customers who have already placed an order for the SP/300 R will be given priority booking slots, “after which the extensive list of people who have registered an interest with Caterham will be offered one of the strictly limited drives”.

The SP/300 R was developed in partnership with British racing and engineering brand Lola, and it made its global debut at January’s Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC. It is powered a Caterham-tuned, supercharged version of Ford’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder Duratec unit churning out 300-horses. The British automaker committed to build only 25 of the lightweight sports prototype racers a year, with 14 having already been snapped up.

“There has been a huge amount of interest in this car since we unveiled it at the start of the year,” said Caterham Motorsport Manager, Simon Lambert. “It will be fantastic to get it on track this summer and we can’t wait to see the look on people’s faces when they try it for the first time. We are confident it will be everything they expect and more.”

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