The Mercedes-AMG GT2 Pro has debuted for wealthy motorsport enthusiasts looking to hit the track. But not necessarily those who want to go racing. Prices start at the equivalent of $509,545 (479,000 euros).

The Pro uses the existing Mercedes-AMG GT2 as a starting point. The new variant gains a Push2Pass system that temporarily boosts the output from the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 to 739 horsepower (551 kilowatts), versus the standard 697 hp (520 kW) during normal driving. The sequential six-speed transmission has modified gear ratios.

The GT2 Pro also receives a set of four-way adjustable shock absorbers, whereas the existing track machine uses three-way tunable pieces. Mercedes tweaks the aerodynamics for the new model by adding larger endplates to the rear wing.

All of the GT2 Pros come with a matte gray body with teal stripes. The 18-inch wheels have a matching color scheme. The body’s carbon-fiber elements receive a bright finish. In the cabin, a varnish over the center console gives it a bluish hue. Air conditioning keeps drivers comfortable during a track session. For safety, the car comes with a carbon safety cell, a five-point harness, safety nets, a fire extinguisher, and an extraction hatch on the roof.

Buyers get an array of track-focused accessories, too. Puma supplies a racing suit, gloves, shoes, and even competition underwear – just in case. There’s also a Bell helmet with a Mercedes-AMG GT2 Pro design.

Mercedes offers several options for customers looking for more amenities. A passenger safety cell means a second occupant can ride along on the track. There are also available seat and helmet cooling and a drinking system. Buyers can even arrange for instruction from a member of the Mercedes-AMG Driver Pool.

While the GT2 Pro isn’t race-legal as delivered, buyers can downgrade it to be legal for competition. Customers even get priority access for entering the AMG Racing Series events.

The AMG GT2 and Pro aren’t the only track car variants for this Mercedes sports coupe. In August, the automaker introduced the GT3 Edition 55 in a limited edition of just five units. The model didn’t have FIA homologation for competition, so the company pushed the 6.3-liter V8 to 650 hp – around 100 hp more than the regular GT3. The company charged roughly $620,000 (625,000 euros) for them.

Mercedes possibly has a high-performance, road-legal AMG GT on the horizon. The Concept E Performance featured an electric motor on the rear axle, in addition to the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8. The automaker said the system’s total output was over 800 hp.

BMW’s first attempt to set a new record at Pikes Peak didn’t go as planned. The hybrid SUV crashed during the run in June. The automaker made a second run on September 21, and it was much more successful. The XM now holds the record for the fastest hybrid production SUV to run the course, which you can watch above.  

Professional racing driver Matt Mullins piloted the BMW XM Label Red up the hill in 10 minutes, 48.60 seconds. While the time is impressive, the XM trailed the Lamborghini Urus Performante without a hybrid powertrain when it completed the course last year in 10 minutes, 32.06 seconds. It still holds the outright record among production SUVs.

The crash in June left Mullins unhurt, but the BMW was badly damaged. The SUV had its front passenger wheel torn off and received a cracked windshield. The crash knocked down a tree, but the vehicle’s safety cage remained intact, protecting Mullins from sustaining severe injuries.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado is a grueling test that starts at 9,390 feet above sea level. Over 150 turns separate the start from the finish line at the 14,115-foot summit. Competitors and race fans have been converging on the mountain since 1916.

The BMW XM Label Red produces 738 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque from its hybrid-assisted 4.4-liter V8 engine, making the SUV the automaker’s most powerful production vehicle to date. The electric motor produces 194 hp. BMW claims the SUV can sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, and the beast can reach a top speed of 175 mph when equipped with the M Driver’s Package. 

Mullins has competed in six racing series over his two-decade career. He is BMW’s Chief Driving Instructor at the company’s performance center in South Carolina, where it builds the XM SUV. In 2018, Mullins helped BMW earn a pair of Guinness Records by completing the world’s longest drift and for the longest twin drift.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie was almost a Ferrari. The most extreme road car ever only happened as an effort to keep star Red Bull designer Adrian Newey from going to Ferrari, according to a new interview between Dax Shepard and Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner.

Newey is one of the most successful engineers in Formula One history. Twelve of his cars have won the series’ World Constructors’ Championship, and he’s acted as a change agent at teams like Williams, McLaren, and Red Bull, pulling struggling teams to the front of the grid with innovative design solutions.

Red Bull won the constructors’ championship consecutively from 2010 through 2013 with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel. However, when F1 changed regulations and entered the hybrid era, Mercedes became the dominant team from 2014 through 2021. Red Bull didn’t top the standings again until 2022. It was during these unsuccessful years that Ferrari started courting Newey.

“Adrian came very close to leaving,” Horner said. “He was within about half an hour of signing.”

Ferrari made Newey a very enticing offer. He would have flown from Monaco to the Maranello factory daily, and the company would help with any taxes. Plus, he’d get to design a road car.

Horner countered by offering to let Newey create a road car at Red Bull. At the time, Aston Martin was the title sponsor of the F1 team, so Horner went to the automaker’s CEO, Andy Palmer, and pitched him the idea.

“Look, we’ve got arguably the best designer of all time,” Horner said in the interview. “You’ve got a great brand. We’re not going to finance the car. But it would make sense to bring these two things together, and that’s literally in a pub in England.”

It worked, and Newey stayed at Red Bull. Aston Martin and Red Bull initially announced the Valkyrie in 2016 under the codename AM-RB 001. The companies announced the car’s official name in 2017. Production finally began in 2021.

The project roped in Cosworth to build the Valkyrie’s 6.5-liter V12, and Rimac supplied the KERS hybrid system. The result is a total output of 1,140 horsepower. Newey created swoopy, highly aerodynamic bodywork for the machine. Horner previously called it “a diffuser on wheels.”

The end result is, without a doubt, the wildest and possibly most complex road car the world has ever seen, an aero machine that can lap tracks as quickly as many race cars but can also, technically, go to the grocery store. At the same time, a new era of dominance for Red Bull in F1 was ushered in. And for all that, we have Ferrari to thank.

When Ford entered an electric van into this year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb, it intended to set a record by completing the course under the nine-minute mark in the Open Class competition. The existing SuperVan 4.0 was the starting point for the updated vehicle, but the Blue Oval had to modify the EV for the grueling 12.5-mile course.

The transition from SuperVan 4.0 to 4.2 required the company to cut 881 pounds (400 kilograms) from the prototype, but it still weighed over 4,400 pounds. Ford Performance engineers had to optimize nearly every aspect of the vehicle for the run, including ride height, brakes, and suspension.

The SuperVan 4.2 isn’t as powerful as the 4.0, making 1,400 horsepower for the run with a triple-motor setup. The 4.0 has four motors that pump out 1,972 hp, but the lack of power didn’t stop the 4.2 from achieving Ford’s targeted time.

Ford only had six weeks to prepare the updated van for testing, and things didn’t go as planned. The test runs damaged a small part of the SuperVan’s transmission, forcing the team to make changes ahead of the official run. Pikes Peak isn’t a race track. It’s a public road with all the imperfections of one, which isn’t the optimal surface for racing.

On the day of the race, the Ford completed the course in 8 minutes, 47.682 seconds, crushing the previous class record of 9 minutes, 24.433 seconds set in 2019. While Ford and the team were quite ecstatic about the result, the SuperVan failed to win the overall race. A 2018 Wolf TSC-FS in the Unlimited class completed the hill climb in 8 minutes, 40.080 seconds.

Racing driver Romain Dumas, who holds the record for the fastest-ever Pikes Peak hill climb run, piloted the van up the course. He was the overall winner in the Hill Climb in 2014 and 2016, and Dumas won Le Mans twice. His experience helped him navigate the 156-turn course with its 4,725-foot elevation change, equal to about four-and-a-half Eiffel Towers stacked end-to-end.

Check out the Supervan 4.0:

Cadillac confirmed Tuesday that it has registered with the FIA to be an official Formula 1 power unit manufacturer, with plans to supply hybrid drivetrains to the newly formed Andretti Cadillac F1 team starting in the 2028 season.

“We are thrilled that our new Andretti Cadillac F1 entry will be powered by a [General Motors] power unit,” GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement. “With our deep engineering and racing expertise, we’re confident we’ll develop a successful power unit for the series, and position Andretti Cadillac as a true works team. We will run with the very best, at the highest levels, with passion and integrity that will help elevate the sport for race fans around the world.”

The announcement comes just one month following the FIA’s approval of Andretti’s Expression of Interest application for entry into the Formula 1 championship. The team must still go through commercial discussions with the series’ management, and, under the Concorde Agreement, is expected to pay at least a $200 million “anti-dilution” fee that would be distributed amongst the existing teams as a way to compensate for future prize money being distributed 11 ways instead of 10 ways.

General Motors says it’s already developing and testing prototype technology that’ll end up in the Cadillac-badged Formula 1 power units. The company is no stranger to racing, having developed the 5.5-liter V-8 that powered Cadillac’s IMSA GTP race car to a championship victory, as well as a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

With Andretti expected to start racing in 2026, one question remains: Where will the team get its engines before the Cadillac unit is ready? Andretti previously had a provisional deal with Renault, but that agreement lapsed back in October.

According to Motorsport.com, the FIA says the team will qualify for an engine supply for 2026 based on current F1 sporting regulations, and that supply will come from a current engine manufacturer that’s supplying the fewest customer teams. In 2026, that’s expected to be a tie between Honda and Alpine, which are both currently committed to supplying engines to just one team each.

Pratt Miller Motorsports on Tuesday shared images of the Corvette race car that will compete in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship, giving us our first look at the iconic yellow livery that will once again grace race tracks across America next year.

While this Z06 GT3.R may look similar to the outgoing Corvette from the 2023 season, far more has changed behind the scenes. The Corvette Racing factory program closed its doors at the end of the season, replaced by a Pratt Miller-run program for 2024 onwards. The Z06 GT3.R will still race in GTD Pro, and it’ll have a similar driver line up with four full-timers: Nicky Catsburg, Antonio Garcia, Tommy Milner and Alexander Sims.

The team, called Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, will still receive factory support, though presumably talks between the team and Chevy will be diminished versus prior years. It’s unclear what that means for the connection between road and race car as the season evolves. As before, the Z06 GT3.R will use a 5.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank V-8 derived from the Z06 road car.

“The Corvette Z06 GT3.R breaks new ground for Chevrolet and the Corvette Racing program,” GM Motorsports Engineering Competition direct Mark Stielow said in a statement earlier this year. “This customer-focused race car leverages learnings from throughout Corvette Racing’s lengthy and successful history, plus the expertise of our Corvette production design, engineering and powertrain teams.”

The new Z06 GT3.R will make its racing debut at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona, IMSA’s season-opener event.

Williams Racing announced Tuesday it has signed Lia Block to represent the team in the 2024 F1 Academy championship. Block plans to participate in a full season with the ART Grand Prix team.

The 17-year-old American driver started racing in karts when she was 11 years old, before going on to compete in stage rally, rallycross, Extreme E, and the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. Earlier this year she took a championship win in the American Rally Association’s open two-wheel drive class.

The news of Block’s signing to Williams comes nearly a year after her father, superstar Gymkhana driver and Hoonigan founder Ken Block, was killed in a snowmobile accident. Since then, Block has made numerous appearances at car events behind the wheel of her late father’s vehicles.

“I am so excited to be joining the Williams Driver Academy and competing in F1 Academy in 2024,” Block said in a statement. “This is something I never could have dreamed of. I can’t wait to embrace this new experience and learn as much as possible.”

Block will be joined at ART Grand Prix by 18-year old Filipino driver Bianca Bustamante, who’s previously raced in the W Series and in Formula 4.

“Lia has already achieved a tremendous amount in motorsport, has incredible natural talent, and the champion mindset and dedication to make a success of her journey into open-wheel racing,” Williams team principal James Vowles said in a statement.

Block will appear in all seven rounds of the Formula 1 support series, with events in Saudi Arabia, Miami, Barcelona, Zandvoort, Singapore, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

“We cannot wait to get started on this journey together,” Vowles added. “As a team, we are committed to Formula 1 and F1 Academy’s joint efforts to improve female representation in motorsport, and we look forward to working with Lia as a key part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy.”

Last night, first practice for the first Las Vegas GP lasted a total of eight minutes. A loose drainage cover was pulled up by Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, and not only did it ruin Sainz’s car (and weekend, he got a 10 grid place penalty because of the damage), but it also ruined the night for F1 fans.

Free practice one was canceled, and by the time free practice two was ready to go at 2:30 am for an extended 90 minute session, all fans were cleared out and made to leave. It was not a great start to what is supposed to be a marquee weekend of the F1 calendar. Add to that outrageous pricing that’s plummeted in recent days, traffic disruptions that are infuriating locals, temperatures that are far colder than F1 expected because nobody Googled how cold the desert gets before planning a night race in November, and a multi-time champion who seems less than impressed by the overall event, and you have a race weekend that’s begging to be criticized.

Now, I’m not on TikTok and don’t use it, but the younger, hipper members of the Motor1 and InsideEVs staff are, and they’ve seen people ripping the race weekend apart. Below are just a few examples:

 

 

 

 

If you have more examples, drop them in the comments below. Hopefully the rest of the weekend goes better than last night.

The Ford Mustang GT3 debuted back in June. We’ve seen plenty of photos showcasing the winged pony car, but this new video from Italiansupercarvideo on YouTube gives us our first real taste of the Mustang’s capabilities. And we like the flavor. A lot.

This particular GT3 will be campaigned by the Italian Dinamic GT team in the 2024 GT World Challenge Europe series, according to the video’s description. It was filmed during a testing session at Misano, a 2.5-mile track located in northern Italy. Though other cars are present on the course, the video is essentially a love letter to V8 power. Even crew members of other race teams turn their heads when the Mustang leaves the pits, as seen very clearly early in the clip. This car definitely commands attention.

Credit for this soundtrack comes courtesy of a naturally aspirated 5.4-liter V8 engine. A specific power output isn’t mentioned by Ford, but the GT3 category allows a maximum of 600 horsepower so it’s safe to assume the Mustang is close to that. More than just a winged Mustang GT, the GT3 utilizes a transaxle as opposed to a transmission bolted directly to the engine. Mounted at the back, it gives the GT3 better weight distribution. And naturally, it’s adorned with all kinds of aero components designed to help it stick to the track.

The Mustang GT3 will also head to Le Mans for 2024, campaigned by Proton Competition. If you want to own a sort of Mustang GT3 you can drive on the street, you can buy the Mustang GTD. It’s a road-legal version of the GT3, swapping the naturally aspirated mill for a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 making 800 hp. You still get the transaxle, along with the bonkers aero and bragging rights for owning what could be the fastest road-legal Mustang of them all.

You’ll pay dearly for the privilege, however. The limited-edition Mustang GTD will cost upwards of $300,000 when it goes on sale in late 2024.

The new Toyota Camry will hit the race track before it reaches dealer lots. Today, the automaker revealed the Camry XSE Next Gen that will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next year. It’ll make its racing debut at the Clash at the Coliseum in early February, but the Camry you can buy won’t go on sale in the US until March 19.

Toyota designed the new race car to look like the road-going version, the only thing the two share. The Camry XSE Next Gen features the sedan’s hammerhead front fascia and broad lower grille opening that’s flanked by C-shaped corner vents.

The car has distinctive fender flares that blend into a rear-end design less similar to the road car. The Toyota badge sits high on the back above the Camry word mark between the thin taillight stickers.

Toyota updated the Camry for the 2025 model year a few weeks ago. The automaker gave the ninth-generation sedan a revamped exterior design and an updated cabin.

The carmaker also shifted the powertrain lineup to hybrid-only, killing the V6. The front-wheel-drive version pairs a 2.5-liter four-cylinder to two electric motors, making a total of 225 horsepower. All-wheel-drive versions get a third electric motor on the rear axle with 232 hp on tap. The Camry XSE Next Gen will have a pushrod V8 making close to 700 hp.

The Camry XSE Next Gen, which replaces the Camry TRD racer, will compete against the new Mustang Dark Horse that Ford revealed earlier this month. Toyota competes in all three national series, racing the Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Tundra TRD Pro in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.