The Porsche 908 was built for FIA Group 6 competition, so it was smaller, lighter and considerably less powerful than Porsche’s monstrous 917. On a technical course, with plenty of tight corners, the 908/3 seen here could easily hold its own against the 917K, especially in the hands of a driver like Brian Redman. In the video below, the 600+ horsepower 917s walk away from the 908 on the straights. The corners, on the other hand, are ruled by the 370 horsepower 908/3.

Unlike most videos, which feature cheesy soundtracks that detract from the music of the automobile, this Road & Track video lets the user enjoy the roar of the 908/3′s 3.0-liter flat-eight engine. Blow it up to full screen and crank the volume, then enjoy nine minutes of Porsche 917 hunting.

If you have a car with any kind of sporting intentions, it’s essential that you test it on Germany’s “Green Hell,” the Nürburgring Nordschleife, to establish its credibility. In the past few months, Lexus, Dodge and Chevrolet have all thrown down impressive lap times around the ‘Ring, which gives a manufacturer much needed bragging rights, even if the time isn’t record-setting.

Take the McLaren MP4-12C for example. No one doubts that the car is fast, but exactly how fast hasn’t been well established. Most agree it’s faster than McLaren’s legendary F1 supercar, while being a whole lot more forgiving to drive at the limit. The YouTube video below gives you pieces of McLaren’s claimed MP4-12C Nürburgring lap time, but it doesn’t show the entire lap from start to finish. Worse, the lap time shown at the end of the video, 7:28, doesn’t seem to be documented anywhere else.

We’ll give McLaren the benefit of the doubt and accept that the MP4-12C did run from bridge to gantry in 7:28. That makes the MP4-12C faster than a Porsche Carrera GT (by seven-tenths of a second), but eight seconds slower than a 2012 Corvette ZR1 on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. It’s also four seconds off the pace of a new Nissan GT-R, which explains why McLaren may not be celebrating their lap time achievement.

If you still think that electric power is for golf carts only, have a look at the video below. In it, Toyota Motorsport driver Jochen Krumbach sets a new world record for a lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, running it from bridge to gantry in just under 7:48. That was fast enough to shatter the old record of 9:01, set by Peugeot’s EX1 electric roadster concept.

Just so you have a benchmark, 7:48 is identical to the time set by Horst von Sauma in a BMW M3 GTS. It’s faster than a 2009 Porsche 911 Carrera S and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, but not quite as fast as a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

Without the roar of an internal combustion engine, you can hear all of the car’s subtle mechanical noises, such as the chassis flexing and the brake pads grabbing and releasing. You can hear the tires fighting for grip as well, and it’s clear that Krumbach wasn’t holding anything back on his record run attempt. It’s still going to be some time before electric racing becomes mainstream, but you have to be impressed by how hard the car pulls out of corners. If that’s a golf cart, it’s a damn fast golf cart.

Source: Left Lane News

Convertibles are wonderful machines. They let you feel the wind in your hair, are amazing on a 70-degree evening when the moon is out and give you the feeling of freedom as your cruising down the highway. However, when it comes to racing let’s just say that drop-tops have no place there. A perfect example of why they shouldn’t race was seen a few weeks ago at the Silverstone Classic in Northamptonshire, England when a Morgan Roadster driven by Luther Blissett took a tumble. Blissett walked away unharmed thanks to his roll-cage but you can bet next time he’ll think twice about running that open-air Morgan on the track. Click through for the video.

Source: Autoblog

Germany’s Nürburgring may be the most challenging racetrack on the planet. First, the Nordschleife course is over 13 miles long, and it includes 154 corners. You don’t learn it in a day, a week, a month or even a year, unless you run the Green Hell every single day. Mastery generally takes years, and hte ‘Ring is made even more dangerous by bumpy pavement, multiple track surfaces, other users and the Eifel region’s notoriously bad weather. It’s not uncommon to encounter rain on part of the track, while the rest is bathed in sunlight. No one keeps an accurate count of how many visitors get killed on the ‘Ring each year, and I’ve seen estimates that range from 3 to 12 fatalities per year.

If driving the ‘Ring at speed takes Huevos mas grande, riding it for a record time on a bike takes a special kind of crazy. Remember, the ‘Ring doesn’t have gravel traps and wide run off areas; instead, it has lots of pine trees, alarmingly close to the track. Make a high-speed mistake on a bike, and chances are it’s not going to end very well for you.

That’s what makes the video below all the more impressive. I wish I had information to share on the rider or the bike, but a 7:26 lap of the Nordschleife on two wheels is impressive to see. Check out how hard the bike’s suspension is working, and watch how the rider dials it back just a hair to keep himself safe. I’d love the opportunity to lap the ‘Ring at a moderate pace on a bike, but there’s no chance I’d ride it at more than 7/10s. To guys like this, who ride at 9.5/10s, I salute you.

Source: You Tube via Autoblog

Here’s rule number one for driving a car on a racetrack: if an animal is stupid enough to cross your path, don’t risk your car and your life at triple digit speeds by trying to avoid it. I’ve hit rabbits and rattlesnakes on racetracks, and things didn’t turn out as well for them as for the squirrel in the video below. His only injury appears to be a shortened tail, clipped by a Lamborghini LP670-4, although I have no doubt that the squirrel will need serious counseling for the foreseeable future. Given the possible outcome, I’d have to say that things worked out well for Stumpy; besides, I’m sure the old adage that “chicks dig scars” extends to the animal kingdom as well.

Source: YouTube

Just a few weeks back we brought you video of the 2012 Corvette ZR1 lapping the Nürburgring in 7:19. Given the ZR1’s near-supercar status, you’d expect that a lowly (and normally aspirated) Z06 would be significantly slower around the Green Hell. The difference between the two cars in lap times is less than you’d expect, which makes justifying the $36,000 price increase for the ZR1 that much harder. How fast is the Z06 around the ‘Ring? Watch the video below to find out, but I’ll give you this hint: it’s significantly quicker than a 2009 Corvette ZR1.

Source: You Tube, via Autoblog

Flying to Europe to take a demonstration lap in a C6R Corvette at Le Mans would cost stupid money, as would hiring veteran racer Oliver Gavin to show you the line around the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe. Instead, why not sit back and enjoy your Father’s Day coffee as Gavin shows you the ropes in the video below? Trust me on this: it’s way cooler than any lap you’ve ever raced on Gran Turismo 5, so turn up the volume and enjoy.

How fast is the 2012 Corvette ZR1? Would you believe six seconds faster around the ‘Ring than a 2009 Corvette ZR1? Would you believe it’s also faster around the Green Hell than a Dodge Viper ACR, a 2011 Nissan GT-R and a Ferrari Enzo? In fact, the only non-hyper-exotic that’s lapped the Nürburgring in less time is Porsche’s latest GT2 RS, which did it in 7:18. The Porsche GT2 RS is a limited edition street legal race car, with a starting price tag of $245,000. The Corvette ZR-1 can be picked up at your local Chevy dealer for less than half of that price, which only makes the Corvette’s lap time that much more impressive. Watch a video of the record run below.

Source: Autoweek

As an instructor with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) I can tell you from experience that the vast majority of high performance car owners lack the ability that’s needed to drive their cars at the limit. All too often people come to the race track with their 450 + hp machines only to finish the day by having a whole new respect for them. Most of the owners are willing to learn and take instruction which, let’s face it, is why they’re there. Every so often though we do get individuals who simply aren’t smart enough to know what they don’t know and when that happens things usually go south very quickly. I was lucky enough to have recently sat down with J.F. Musial of The Road Testament to shed a little insight on why getting some real driver education is the way to go for every driver out there. Click through for the video.