Tag: Race Cars

  • Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo2 gets an aggressive makeover

    The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 is the latest race car for the automaker’s one-make race series. Unveiled Wednesday, the Evo2 differs radically from the previous Super Trofeo Evo version, with bodywork that bears little resemblance to the Huracán road car.

    The new bodywork was a collaboration between Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse racing division and Centro Stile design studio, and it previews styling elements that will be used on future road cars, the automaker said in a press release.

    The LED headlights are much thinner than those on the current Huracán road car, with jowl-like channels along the side defining the corners of the front end. The Evo2 also gets an “omega” front lip, which Lamborghini said was inspired by the Huracán STO track car.

    Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2

    Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2

    At the back, the Evo2 features a large carbon-fiber rear wing, stabilizing fin, and fender flares that look like part of a Liberty Walk body kit. It also gets new taillights in a shape that references the Lamborghini Countach.

    The Evo2 still uses a version of the 5.2-liter V-10 from the Huracán road car, tuned to produce 620 hp. An X-Trac 6-speed sequential gearbox sends that power to the rear wheels, while larger steel brake rotors (15.4 inches, up from the previous 15 inches) and new calipers provide stopping power. The calipers were designed for new brake pads that feature a larger surface area, improving braking performance, Lamborghini said.

    The Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 will make its public debut on May 28, coinciding with the second round of the European Super Trofeo division’s 2021 season. The series, which includes a North American division as well, will switch to the new car for the 2022 season. European pricing for the complete car starts at about $305,000 at current exchange rates), but kits will also be available to upgrade existing cars to Evo2 spec.

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  • 1955 Jaguar D-Type headed to auction

    Before the invention of track-only supercars, wealthy enthusiasts could simply buy a race car like this 1955 Jaguar D-Type. The rare Jag will be auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s Jan. 22.

    Introduced in 1954, the D-Type earned three straight 24 Hours of Le Mans victories from 1955-’57, the last two years with privateer teams. Jaguar built just 17 works race cars (including  11 “long-nose” variants), plus 54 customer race cars. Some D-Type chassis were also converted into XKSS road cars, a process that was cut short by a 1957 fire at Jaguar’s Coventry, England, factory, which destroyed the final five cars earmarked for conversion.

    The car up for auction—chassis XKD 518—is not a Le Mans veteran, but is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. It left the factory not in traditional British Racing Green, but in red—a color normally associated with Jaguar’s Italian rivals. XKD 518 was also sold to its first private owner by future Formula 1 czar Bernie Ecclestone.

    1955 Jaguar D-Type XKD 518 (Photo by RM Sotheby's)

    1955 Jaguar D-Type XKD 518 (Photo by RM Sotheby’s)

    That first private owner was race driver Peter Blond, who ran XKD 518 at British tracks like Silverstone and Goodwood during the 1956 and 1957 seasons. Blond sold the car in August 1957, and it changed hands many more times over the years, ending up with its current owner in 2008.

    Under the hood sits a 3.4-liter XK inline-6 with a numbers-matching block and head, which makes 245 horsepower, according to the listing. XKD 518 left the factory without the trademark D-Type fin, and with a low windscreen, according to the listing, but it sports those items now. They were added to the car at some point during its racing career, and are thus period correct, the auctioneer noted.

    Pre-auction estimates for the red D-Type are between $5.7 million and $7.5 million, which seems like a relative bargain compared to the $21.8 million paid for a Le Mans-winning D-Type in 2016. Note that this car failed to sell at a 2018 auction, because bidding didn’t meet an $8.8 million reserve.

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  • 1990 Nissan NPT-90 IMSA GTP race car for sale

    The IMSA GTP class produced some of the best racing to ever grace United States road courses. It featured powerful cars and fierce competition among many well-funded, factory-backed teams. This 1990 Nissan NPT-90 was one of the most formidable GTP cars in the class’ later years.

    Offered for sale by race-car restorer Canepa, this car is the first of six NPT-90 chassis built. The NPT-90 was the second-generation Nissan GTP car, and it benefited from much greater factory support than its predecessor.

    Don Devendorf’s Electramotive team raced the Nissan-powered GTP-ZXT from 1984 to 1990. Geoff Brabham won the 1988 driver’s title in the GTP-ZXT, but lacked the funding to develop the car into a consistent race winner. With more direct involvement from Nissan, Electramotive was reorganized as Nissan Performance Technology Incorporated (NPTI). Nissan’s largesse brought expanded engineering and fabrication facilities in Vista, California, at which legendary designer Trevor Harris created the new NPT-90.

    Wearing the doorstop-like bodywork characteristic of prototype race cars of the time, the GTP-90 is powered by a mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 that makes more than 950 horsepower. That power is managed by a Hewland 5-speed manual transmission.

    1990 Nissan NPT-90 (Photo by Canepa)

    1990 Nissan NPT-90 (Photo by Canepa)

    The car offered for sale—chassis 01—began racing in the middle of the 1990 season and continued through the end of 1992. The car racked up two wins, nine 2nd-place finishes, and five 3rd-place finishes during that time. It was driven by Brabham, along with Chip Robinson, Bob Earl, and Derek Daly, according to Canepa. Nissan won the IMSA constructors’ championship in 1990 and 1991, losing out to Toyota in 1992. The GTP class was scrapped at the end of the following season.

    Canepa claims chassis 01 is well preserved in its 1992 as-raced condition, with most of its original components.

    The NPT-90 marked the high point for Nissan in prototype sports car racing. Multiple attempts to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990s failed, as did a later campaign in 2015 with the ill-fated GT-R LM NISMO.

    Canepa doesn’t list a price for this piece of racing history, but you can believe the buyer will pay handsomely for it.

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