It's the end of the year 2012 and I want to talk about new
Le Mans race cars for the next year--
2013 and beyond.
But really, today's topic is race cars that should be,
versus race cars we currently have--
built around the all-new supercars coming out versus,
let's say, Daytona prototypes which may or may not be
cheaper to race.
And this may or may not be our 100th
ShakeDown show of the year.
There are three shows deleted from the ShakeDown playlist
over on the right side of the Drive Home page, but certainly
we've delivered more ShakeDown shows versus the number from
my esteemed Drive contemporaries.
Mike Spinelli did 50 or so Road Testaments in 2012 and
another 47 Drive Centrals.
Chris Harris chose to grace us with 44 shows.
And the rest of the guys--
20-something or less.
But comparisons mean nothing, as Harris and Matt Farah pile
on massive view counts per show with their quality.
I apparently took the route best used by failing, flailing
car companies.
The path that made British Leyland a legend.
Yeah, the product could be a bit better.
Yeah, we lose something with each one.
But if we pump out enough, we'll make it up in volume.
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Race cars that should be-- and it's all prompted by the huge
number of hyper-supercars that the auto companies are
building, designing, and planning to sell--
Porsche 918, Ferrari F70 or 150, McLaren P1, and now Audi
with a rumored R20, and more that we'll discuss.
How about racing those cars versus continuing to race the
race cars like the R18, Toyota TSO30, Lola P1?
Cars that may or may not have a most relevant connection to
production-car design and technology.
And right here let me frame the context of Le Mans racing,
because there really are only two classes.
Because all that class BS aside with ALMS
merging with Grand-Am--
and by the way, that announcement will be January 4
, noon Eastern.
The press conference is going to be called the Conceptual
Class Structure of the Unified North American Sports Car
Series for 2014.
"Un-Scuzz"?
What is that abbreviation?
And you know they really just want to call it North American
Sports Car Auto Racing--
NASCAR--
right?
Back to framing, what Le Mans racing currently is-- and like
I said, it's basically two types of cars.
GT production-based cars like these--
the Ferraris, Porsche, BMW, Aston, Corvette--
including this rendering of the 2014 Corvette C7R by
viewer and fan, Chris Draper.
Good job, Chris, and thanks.
And then there's the second class-- the faster LMP
prototypes like these that we have now, or over the past
years like this, and over the many past years like this.
But there was a moment in time in the '90s when the Le Mans
24 organizers lusted after more production-based cars in
the top class.
Remember this?
The 1995 winning McLaren F1?
Which is where I want to go with today's talk.
The fastest race cars being built directly from the
fastest road cars.
Not looking like silhouette cars like this Corvette
Daytona prototype.
Real cars as real race cars.
Because when we show you what's coming down the road
for manufacturers--
well as much as it's easy to love the exotic tech of
purpose-built prototype race cars like the Toyota TSO30, I
got to say-- stuff like this--
because that's the monocoque of the new Ferrari Enzo
replacement.
If putting cars like this new Ferrari on the racetrack helps
fans keep attached to racing, manufacturers involved in
racing, and makes the relevance of racing to real
car tech easier to understand for the unwashed masses, I say
let's go for it.
And think how cool the starting grid at Le Mans or
Sebring or Daytona would be with these cars that I'm about
to discuss with you.
So here we go.
The obvious first mention is the Porsche 918.
And this picture is from China of the actual production car.
Yes, Porsche is building an LMP1 car to race
against their Audis.
And this was the secret LMP1 car from 1999 or 2000 that
never raced.
And now a new prototype is coming, which I
know will be awesome.
But really, why not just tune up this 918 as the fastest
Porsche race car?
Next is Ferrari.
The F70 or F150 or-- hey, call it freaking Toby.
I do not care because this car hits all the marks.
The teaser shots are hot and the specs are molto bene.
Ferrari V12--
curves.
That carbon monocoque--
more F1 tech than ever than in any other road car.
Oh, and my favorite part-- it's smaller and lighter
versus some of the other mega pigs that other companies
think they need to spawn to be hypercar cool.
And if it looks anything like this concept rendering-- if it
goes like that tech says it will, we need to see this
thing at Le Mans.
Because the last time Ferrari won Le Mans was all the way
back to 1965.
And if Ford is going to ignore its 1966 first win
anniversary--
Ferrari, the winner of nine overall Le Mans titles and
yes, a few more GT-class wins--
Ferrari should celebrate the anniversary of its last
overall win.
Right De Fossi?
And no offense, as they say on the internet when someone is
about to slam something or someone, but why do we now
need Glickenhaus and his P4/5 Crusade?
I know you netters love the car and this guy, but-- and
he's shown us an update of the car that we saw at
Nurburgring-- but again, why do we need to have this car if
the F150 is coming?
Or maybe Glickenhaus inspired this whole F150 thing.
Rumor is, he tested curves for Ferrari.
And now we have Audi.
Audi puts out the word that its own mega car is coming--
the R20.
Logical numbering from the R18 Le Mans winner.
Audi, like Ferrari, is saying their supercar will be stuffed
with racing tech.
But not F1--
LMP1.
OMFFG--
game is on.
Now the rendering is just fishy, it's not Audi-official.
All the buff publications are doing art and no one knows any
of the truth.
And I've been begging for a diesel RA to
honor the Le Mans wins--
not some Lambo V10 that has the racing heritage of a
tractor pull.
I kind of joke, but here we go with the R20.
It'll be perfect in my opinion.
V6 turbo diesel with e-tron Quattro drive train, active
aero, carbon exotic materials in everything, Audi electronic
controls, and all the learned results of 12 Le Mans 24 wins.
And yes, I'm counting the Audi-powered
Bentley win of 2003.
Speaking of which, screw the Bentley GT3 racer, I want
Bentley to fulfill the tease that was the
1999 Hunaudieres concept--
that mid-engine car with a W12 engine.
And why not have VW members like Bentley racing Porsche
and Audi with the Hunaudieres.
Hunaudieres--
H-U-N-A-U-D-I--
stop right there.
See, Audi is in the name of this Bentley already.
And now McLaren with the new P1--
supposed to be the fastest car, the most racecar like.
This and that in there and blah blah freaking blah.
Just race it.
Like the MP4-12C GT3 and the original McLaren F1.
And there are others that are likely to make up on our real
car fastest race cars class of Le Mans racers.
Mercedes is rumored to have a program.
This was their original GT1, and it's time for them to fix
the flipping car that this was.
That's the real picture, folks.
And what year was that--
1999?
And what the hell, Nissan needs to do a status car, too.
Time to update their R390 that was also from the 1990s.
And yes, that's the video game screen capture,
but it makes my point.
You guys love it and Nissan needs to do a new one and race
it like they did the last time.
And how about Honda/Acura?
The new NSX--
time to race.
Mazda with the Furai concept that they never developed.
And Lexus says they need a new image car after the LFA.
Well, here we go, it's time.
Time to build something better than the overpriced whatever,
or Tom Cruise movie cars.
Who else?
VW--
how about them themselves?
They teased with a mid-engine exotic in years prior.
And I say put every VW brand in the top race car class and
just let them all go for it.
Which also means freaking Bugatti.
They won Le Mans in 1937 and '39--
time to race.
Speaking of old brands--
Cadillac.
Let me forget your failed 1999 Le Mans race cars, but I'll
remember your brand if the Cien gets updated from road
car to turn race car.
And while we're dishing American pie, how about Ford?
For all of your markets--
US, Europe, and Asia--
I think it's time for you to update this--
this was the Mark IV Le Mans winner from 1967--
with something road-awesome that could become a race car
beyond this.
And call the new one the Mark V and race it at Le Mans.
Because in this dream state of sports car racing we are
creating, Ferrari will be racing there and you know what
happened the last time they did it.
You need to be there and chasing.
And how about J.F. Musial's poster-children for exotics--
the Pagani Huayra or the Koenigsegg?
Both you guys-- on the racetrack please.
Now I'm just riffing.
So who else do you think should be in this new class of
hypercar road cars built into race cars for Le Mans?
Or the ALMS, the Grand-Am merger, the World Endurance
Championship?
They should be racing everywhere-- at Sebring,
Daytona, Petit Le Mans, downtown Baltimore Grand Prix.
Like I said-- everywhere.
And in my rule book, just like F1, every manufacturer has to
field a two-car team.
And with just the brands I mentioned, we've got 32 cars
in the grid already.
OK.
That's it for today.
So I want your thoughts.
More pure prototype race cars like the R18 and Toyota?
Or have the fastest sports cars racing as
production-based race cars?
And if yes, who else do you think you want to see on the
track with this hypercar that would be good for the brand--
good for racing?
Aston?
Lincoln?
So this is the last show for 2012.
And seriously, thank you everyone.
First, obviously Drive team for helping us all the way.
All you viewers-- the fans and those that were not so much--
appreciate your passion for cars and your thinking as we
put these shows out there.
Hope you come back.
Appreciate you being here.
Have a good new year.
Take care.
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