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<Why Koenigsegg Never Went Racing, And Why It Doesn't Plan to Start Christian von Koenigsegg explains why his cars have never competed at Le Mans, and why he doesn't intend to participate in the new Hypercar class. KOENIGSEGG Despite building some of the most innovative supercars on earth, Koenigsegg does not currently have a racing team. That's not for lack of trying: Founder Christian von Koenigsegg actually built a viable race car with intent to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when his company was in its infancy. But it never happened, and during a lengthy conversation with the man behind the Swedish performance car company, we learned more about why his Le Mans ambitions fell apart—and whether he hopes to try again. In 2007, Koenigsegg built a fully-functional race car that exactly followed the FIA's Group GT1 rules. The race car, called CCGT, bore a strong resemblance to Koenigsegg's second production model, the CCR. But its roots went back even further, to the very first prototype Koenigsegg built, called CC. As explained on a Koenigsegg company blog post, the original CC, and the race car it spawned, was designed to fit exactly into GT1's dimension requirements: The car could be two meters wide at the maximum, and the cockpit had to span 70 percent of the vehicle's overall width. It had a dry weight of 2200 pounds (significantly below the minimum weight for GT1, which would mean adding ballast to reach the required weight) and was powered by a naturally aspirated V-8 making well over 600 horsepower. But two months after the CCGT's first shakedown runs, the ACO and FIA had a change of heart. The governing bodies banned carbon-fiber monocoque construction, which was used in every Koenigsegg road car and thus formed the basis of the CCGT. The regulators also raised the minimum production requirement dramatically. Previously, an automaker was required to construct 20 street-legal examples of a model, in total, to be eligible to race. After the 2007 change, that number rose to 350 cars per year, impossible for a tiny automaker like Koenigsegg to achieve. The CCGT was ruled out of the class before it ever competed in a single race. The only Koenigsegg CCGT ever built. | KOENIGSEGG "We were aiming to go racing in the GT1 series, which was perfect for our type of cars—road-going hypercars turned race cars" von Koenigsegg told Road & Track during a recent, lengthy conversation. "Then they shut it down right when we were about to go racing, which was very annoying. Since then, there hasn't been any series for these types of cars." The rule change left von Koenigsegg without a place to take his supercars racing. "Even if we would be allowed to go to the highest level of GT racing, we would be competing against Porsche 911s and Ferrari 488s"—sports cars built to vastly different performance goals than Koenigsegg's cars, which commanded well over half a million dollars each. Even if von Koenigsegg had wanted to compete in such a class, he worried that his cars would be "completely downgraded through Balance of Performance via restrictors, because we are not supposed to be any faster. And then it would be just a super-expensive racing car, which would cost more to repair than a 911, and we might even get beaten by a 911 because of BoP, while in reality, they are completely different vehicles. That doesn't make any sense." So Koenigsegg's racing dreams died in 2007, before they could ever become real. But what about today? The WEC's new Hypercar class debuted this year, and it was seemingly built for exactly the kind of extreme vehicles that Koenigsegg builds. But the man behind the Swedish supercar company is unconvinced. "Of course, they started this Hypercar series at Le Mans, but in the end it turned out to be some kind of LMP car again, so it's just a new name for the same kind of thing, more or less." Does von Koenigsegg see a racing future for his cars? Not under the current rules. "The alternative, I guess, is to build some kind of a Le Mans Prototype, which has no relation to our road cars, which I don't find too appealing. I would like to go back to the GT1 type of class, where we [could] see Bugattis, Paganis, Koenigseggs—modified road cars featuring completely different technologies. Not this silhouette racing where you have the same chassis under different bodies. Granted, it would be a very expensive series, given the price of these cars, but then we could build up on what we have. Everyone could showcase something you could actually buy, if you're extremely wealthy. That's what we would like, but I'm not sure if it could ever happen.">

Awesome video from Porsche. Well worth the time.

Some of you might know i was at the 'Ring for the 24hr Race, yes i stayed at the track for 24hrs (slept in my car for 1-2hrs between 330-530am). But i had to leave just before the race ended as the locals told us if we stayed till the end, getting out of the area would have been next to impossible for at least 2-3 hours. I haven't got round to doing up my writeup on the race, but here's an amateur video i put together. Hope you all will like it, first time i make a video like this. Will try to do better in the future if ever i have the chance.

Something I always wanted to clarify. My understanding of the _practical_ purpose of putting BBK is this. 1.) Unless your stock brakes are worn out or piss poor, BBKs do NOT improve stopping distance. If your stock brakes can cause the ABS to activate when you stomp hard, having stronger/better brakes would not change anything. Since your stock brakes already exceed the limits of the tyres. In fact, if the BBK brake bias is not set up properly, you could end up with worse stopping distance. 2.) What BBKs can do, is to improve pedal feel and for those who track or drive hard, improve heat soak and dissipation. e.g. 1st time stop, BBK and Stock is the same, 2nd time, also same, but after a few repeat hard brakes, the stock might overheat and become spongy and it is here that the BBK would outperform the stock brakes. So is it correct to say that, unless you are tracking your car or driving and braking hard for extended period, BBKs do not improve your stopping distance?

I have to increase my running mileage to be the handsomest guy. But my wife complain I run too much already, can't she see the change in my looks, supported by scientific study. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2551952/Study-Tour-France-cyclists-finds-good-looking-men-did-better.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/sports/cycling/cycling-study-says-hearts-race-with-the-riders.html?_r=0

The Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER) is the only race series of its kind in our region. And while it only runs once round-the-clock, half of the duration of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, the gruelling temperature of the Sepang International Circuit makes it tough for the teams. This year, the race ran from 12 midnight to noon the next day, which meant teams would have it better with the cool conditions of the night first, before finishing at the hottest time of the day. Here we have LKM Racing's Porsche GT3R. One look at the extra wide body, and it can be easily mistaken for the RSR variant. Team Petronas Syntium looked all set and ready to continue their streak of wins - they were the champions in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Sadly though, both the #1 and #28 cars succumbed to mechanical faults and failed to finish the race. It wasn't easy to get a clear shot of the GTR Nismo GT3, because the car was easily one the stars in the pits that night. And it certainly looks like the setup was taken straight out of the famous Gran Turismo video game. Not to mention the GTR looked right at home on the track as well. Audi fielded a total of four entries in this year's MMER. This #777 car is the Ultra variant, and the sole entry in the top tier GT3 class. While the drivetrain and chassis remains identical to its GTC class sibling, the Ultra features additional body kits to give it greater track potency. The #777 car was battling up in third position before encountering a problem with its brake cylinders. The car finished the race in seventh overall. Top honour went to Team Clearwater Racing with their #7 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. It was a much-awaited victory, especially when they missed it by just a notch last year, when it was leading the field for 10 hours before having to retire due to technical faults. Lago Racing came in second place, six laps behind the winning car. AF Corse filled the podium in third, just one lap behind the second position LP560-4. Naza Nexus Racing missed the podium by a spot, coming in a close fourth just 17 minutes behind the third place #3 458. The blue livery is a delightful departure from the usual red that is synonymous with the Italian marque. LKM Racing Porsche GT3R came in fifth position. Craft Racing's Aston Martin Vantage GT3 led the field for the first hour after overtaking both of the SLS AMG GT3s from Team Petronas Syntium. It finished the race in eighth position.

http://www.hks-garager.com.sg/aboutgarager/222 Came across this one..... MCF got talent? (i am not related with GR, havent stepped in there for past 3-4 years)

well, I was attached to our local Team ST Power during the race as their photographer. I'm a bit late posting this but really busy with work. But here's the photos of the race anyway. Alignming wheels during practice The mighty 4G-63 Checking sparks The calm before the race

http://forums.delphiforums.com/bmws...ges/?msg=6950.1

Germany -- Volvophiles may remember the name of racecar driver, Ulli Andree. Last season, Andree piloted the Heico Sportiv Volvo S40 in the fabled 24h-race at N