Porsche has won the Nurburgring 24-hour race for the fourth year in a row, with the first place title going to the Manthey Racing team after its 480hp (358kW) Porsche 911 GT3 RSR managed to rack up 155 laps during the event. Spending time behind the wheel were Timo Bernhard (Germany), Marc Lieb (Germany), Romain Dumas (France), as well as Marcel Tiemann (Monaco), who completed the last laps.

Clocking up 3,933km (2,443mi) the Manthey Racing squad improved on its own distance record from 2006 by a further 101km (62.8mi). Furthermore, Timo Bernhard and Marcel Tiemann are the first drivers to win the long distance classic four times in succession. All in all, Tiemann has climbed to the top of the podium five times, making him the most successful driver of the 24-hour race.

Just one lap behind was Audi’s new R8 LMS race car, but with seven 911 race cars in the top ten there’s no denying that Porsche was easily the most successful manufacturer.

Up against the Porsches were many strong competitors, including the aforementioned Audi R8 LMS, two prototypes of the upcoming Lexus LF-A supercar, six Aston Martins and a GT4 BMW M3.

Overall result for 2009 Nurburgring 24-hour race:

1. Bernhard/Lieb/Dumas/Tiemann, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 155 laps
2. Abt/Hemroulle/Kaffer/Luhr, Audi R8 LMS, 154
3. Collard/Henzler/Lietz/Werner, Porsche GT3 Cup S, 152
4. Alzen/Bert/Arnold/Mies, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 150
5. Basseng/Fässler/Rockenfeller/Stippler, Audi R8 LMS, 149
6. Schmitz/Abbelen/Althoff/Heyer, Porsche 911 GT3, 149
7. Kräling/Gindorf/Scharmach/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 149
8. Bermes/Kainz/Schmickler/Bergmeister, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S, 148
9. Quinn/Quinn/Baird/Denyer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 146
10. Adams/Ludwig/Meier/Grossmann, BMW Z4 M Coupe, 145

Source: Porsche takes overall victory at 2009 Nurburgring 24-hour race – MotorAuthority – Car news, reviews, spy shots

:t-cheers:

Reports out of France and Germany indicate that in addition to the all-new A8 and A5 Sportback, Audi plans to reveal two versions of the R8 at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September.

Both Auto Motor und Sport and L’Automobile report that Audi will finally reveal the R8 Spyder at the IAA expo, with the French pub saying the drop-top supercar will be available with either the standard 420 hp, 4.2-liter V8 or the newly released 525 hp, 5.2-liter V10, allowing Audi to compete directly with the 911 4S, Turbo and convertible models.

However, the big news is the rumored reveal of an electric version of the R8. Details are scarce, so it’s unclear if the R8 concept will be a pure EV, a diesel/gasoline-electric hybrid, a limited production model or, more likely, just an indication that Audi is looking at future powertrains. Regardless, we’ll be on the floor in Frankfurt to bring you both the reveals if/when they happen.

Via: autoblog

Audi R8

Citroen DS – beautiful!

Audi RS4 Avant…

Sweet SUVs

Ferrari F430 Scuderia – oh sh*t!!!!

Skoda Octavia RS

Audi RS4 from before making a U-turn…

Toyota Celica from Switzerland

Audi S4 Avant

Setra bus

Fiat 124 and an Acura, US-import definitely. We only got the Honda Legend here and it sold like crap. Unless the badges were switched…

Audi Q7 V12 TDI

Read my comments. SOB!!! :t-banghea

Ford Mustang – thin tires, cheap look… V6 probably!

Audi RS4 Avant

Ford F-350?

BMW 3er

Another W212 E-Class!!!

Part 5 coming up!

I had a pretty awesome day today in terms of car sightings. Shot over 1,000 pictures of various cars (in 4.5 pictures per second mode) and I’ve selected the best for your enjoyment here. :t-cheers:

Don’t forget to check out the other parts!!!

Ford Mustang

Datsun Z

Hummer H2 and BMW M3

Ford Fiesta RS

Cadillac SLS

Volvo PV445 I think…

BMW M3 Cabrio

Alfa Romeo Mito

Classic Porsche 911

Audi TTS

Maserati 3200 GT

Brabus Mercedes ML

Pure hotness…

Chrysler 300M

The new Audi R8 V10!!!

Maserati Spider

Audi RS6 Avant

Nice-looking C208 CLK

New W212 E-Class

Yay! A Buick!

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

Aston Martin Vantage

First Audi RS4 of the day. Pay attention to the other threads because I lost track of how many RS4′s I saw today!!!

1960s Lincoln Continental – sans JFK…

Wow! Audi RS4 in yellow!!!

SLK with AMG package. Not sure if it is a genuine ’55 AMG…

Audi RS4 number one having made a U-turn…

PART 2 coming up…

What is it?

For most car-makers, ‘automatic’ is simply a word on an options list. For Maserati however, and in relation to its flagship 4.7-litre Gran Turismo S in particular, it’s the signifier of an all-new model variant. And a very important variant at that.

The Gran Turismo has been on sale for two years now, but with this latest version, the Italian sports car maker is making its coupe range complete. Since 2007, it says, it’s had a rival for the Mercedes CL500 and Jaguar XK in the shape of the 399bhp, 4.2-litre Gran Turismo. Since 2008 it’s been courting buyers of more driver focussed machinery such as Audi’s R8 and BMW’s M6 with its 4.7-litre Gran Turismo S.

Full Article: AutoCar – Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic

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