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Felix Baumgartner parachutes into racing at N?rburgring 24

There are plenty of commonalities to be found between astronauts and racing drivers. Both are daredevils by definition (if not by trade), both subject themselves to unfathomable G forces and both face very real risks when strapped into machinery that makes the very best use of advanced propulsion, aerodynamics and composite construction technologies. Yet you don't find much crossover between the two. There was talk of Niki Lauda, himself an experienced pilot, training to go into space with Virgin Galactic (which itself was sister to an F1 team for a while in Richard Branson's empire), but that didn't seem to materialize. Now we're receiving news that Felix Baumgartner will contest the Nürburgring 24 Hours this year.
Felix Whomgartner, you ask? Felix Baumgartner. He's more of a skydiver than an astronaut, but he made history in 2012 when he jumped out of a space capsule and set the record for the highest altitude in a manned balloon, the parachute jump from the highest altitude, and the highest velocity freefall as part of the Red Bull Stratos initiative. In other words, he may as well be an astronaut, because he fell down to the earth's surface from the stratosphere.
For his next challenge, Baumgartner will be climbing into an Audi R8 LMS Ultra in an attempt to tackle the Nürburgring. Having contested a handful of spec races under the VW Group umbrella, he'll undertake several test sessions and practice races before the main event in June, in which he'll alternate behind the wheel with professional racing drivers Frank Biela, Marco Werner and Pierre Kaffer. The initiative is part of the Audi race experience program that allows gentleman racers to team up with seasoned pros to take part in real races. Baumgartner will undoubtedly prove its highest-profile participant.

2014 Audi R8 GT zooming toward Le Mans reveal

According to a report from Autocar in the UK, the Audi R8 is set to get something of a swan song for its own going-away party in the form of an updated GT model for the 2014 model year. If Autocar is right, this even higher-performance Audi R8 will debut at the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.
The 2014 Audi R8 GT Plus will reportedly get a tuned version of the much-loved 5.2-liter V10 engine that Audi has used to good effect in past R8 models. A six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic would send power to the rear wheels, enabling a 3.4-second 0-62 mile per hour run and a top speed of 199 mph.
Judging from spy shots that we've already seen (reprised above), the new GT Plus will be fitted with an aggressive body kit that includes a massive rear wing, a more prominent front splitter and enlarged side blade ducts. A Spyder version of the GT Plus may be on tap for 2015. Pricing, obviously, is unknown, as is any potential launch date. In other words... stay tuned.

Audi exec denies plans for turbo R8

Sometimes smoke doesn't lead to fire. Rumors indicated Audi might drop a turbocharged engine into the latest R8, but now a top executive is throwing a bucket of cold water onto the burning speculation. "The performance potential of this current engine means we don't need to even look at turbocharging at this point," Jurgen Konigstedt, Audi development boss for V6, V8, and V10 engines, said to CarAdvice. He also said sticking with natural aspiration offered a better sound and sharper throttle response than going with forced induction. "There is less emotion with a turbocharged engine," he said. Konigstedt admitted there was a serious discussion about turbocharging the R8. The argument just didn't win out. "If we feel that people absolutely want a turbocharged engine, then we will have to consider it," he said to CarAdvice. Audi just launched a new generation of the supercar. The 2017 R8's 5.2-liter V10 will be available in two tunes: with 540 horsepower in the standard coupe or 610 hp in the Plus. Rumors have persisted about a smaller, forced induction powerplant at the bottom of the range. Some reports suggested a twin-turbo V6 behind the driver, but others said the electrically supercharged 2.5-liter inline five was a candidate. The reason for the entry-level addition was tied to lowering the taxes on the R8 in markets like China. Related Video: