Tag Archives: 24 hours of Le Mans

2024 Alpine A110 R Le Mans

Today (June 10), one of the most famous endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will begin, celebrating its centenary. On this occasion, Alpine presented a limited edition of its racing car, the A110 R Le Mans.

The car is considered a collector’s item and will be produced in only 100 copies. The ultralight Coupé is based on the recently presented Alpine A110 R and it is finished in white with blue details and Le Mans markings, while the interior is equipped with carbon elements and aluminum accessories.

Under the hood is a turbocharged 1.8L four-cylinder engine with 300 hp (221 kW) and 251 lb-ft (340 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. That’s enough power to push the 1,082 kg car to 62 mph (100 km/h) in a respectable 3.9 seconds with a top speed of 285 km/h (177 mph).

The car will be produced in only 100 copies and will cost 140,000 euros. Also, the French car manufacturer announced that, next season, all owners of the A110 R Le Mans will have access to the team pit in the WEC (World Endurance Championship).

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Source: Alpine

2023 Toyota Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition

In 1923, the oldest automobile endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was held for the first time. Now, a century later one of the most successful teams Toyota Gazoo Racing has presented a new concept, the Toyota Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition.

The Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition features a redesigned front bumper with headlights, prominent splitter, two sets of wings and a lighter carbon hood, extended fenders, side skirts and Racing Hybrid decals. At the back, there’s a fixed rear wing, a wide diffuser and rear fender flares inspired by endurance racing cars.

The car is equipped with a new aerodynamic kit and improved suspension, which raised the performance of the car to a higher level. It sits on a set of 18-inch lightweight wheels wrapped in 235/50R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.

It should be noted that Toyota Gazoo Racing has achieved five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2018-2022) and are now hoping for a sixth consecutive victory.

When it comes to the powertrain, Toyota Gazoo Racing did not announce any changes to the hybrid engine. They just said that the car has excellent driving performance due to the exclusive wheels and aerodynamic components inspired by the GR010 HYBRID model from the WEC.

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Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

2023 WEC – World Endurance Championship more exciting than ever

The new season of the 2023 WEC – World Endurance Championship starts on March 17 and is expected to be more exciting than the previous ones. This season (which also marks the centenary of the first 24 Hours of Le Mans), as many as 13 superfast hybrid prototypes from nine teams will participate in the battle for glory in the most powerful class (Hypercar). This is what endurance racing fans have been waiting for for years.

This year, Ferrari returns to the strongest class in which the Italian team has not participated in decades, and the two red 499P prototypes will face the Hypercar prototypes of Toyota (GR-010), Cadillac (V-LMDh), Porsche (963), Peugeot ( 9X8), Glickenhaus (007) and Vanwall Vandervell (680).

Porsche will have four cars in the most powerful class, two from the team Porsche Penske Motorsport and one each from the private teams Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition. In the fight for the very top, the Penske Porsche 963 with number 6 with drivers Frenchman Kévin Estre, German André Lotterer and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor have the best chances. Cadillac, Glickenhaus and Vanwall Vandervell will each have one car in the game, and Ferrari, Toyota and Peugeot will each have two cars.

The LMGTE Pro class in which teams from Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, Aston Martin, Corvette… no longer exists. GT cars will be present this season only in the LMGTE Am class, in which 12 teams will have six Porsche 911 RSR-19s, four Ferrari 488 GTE Evos, three Aston Martin Vantage AMRs and one Corvette C8.R.

11 cars from seven teams will participate in the LMP2 class. This year’s calendar has seven races, among which, definitely, the most important jubilee race is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which starts on June 10, and the season will start with the 1,000 miles of Sebring (USA).

Endurance racing is returning to its roots, and this is confirmed by the previously published information that Lamborghini and BMW will be in the Hypercar company starting next year.

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Source: WEC