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Porsche 919 Hybrid revives Porsche's factory Le Mans efforts

After months of teasing with camouflaged testers, Porsche has finally unveiled its prototype entry for the 2014 World Endurance Championship, the 919 Hybrid. Porsche, you may recall, hasn't had campaigned a factory team at Le Mans in years, so the 919 is nothing less than their recommitment to endurance racing.
Combining a 2.0-liter V4 (yes, a V4) that revs to 9,000 rpm, the 919 produces around 500 horsepower with a pair of energy recovery systems. The first system recovers the heat energy from exhaust gasses as they pass through an electrical generator, while the second system is a bit more familiar. Using a setup similar to what is found on the production 918 Spyder, a generator on the front axle recovers kinetic energy from the brakes, which is subsequently stored in a battery system. That power can then be sent to the front wheels at the driver's command, effectively turning the 919 into an all-wheel-drive racecar.
Despite these various forms of motivation, Porsche doesn't claim to be seeking outright power supremacy, with Chairman Matthias Müller saying, "In 2014, it will not be the fastest car that wins the World Endurance Championship series and the 24 hours of Le Mans, rather it will be the car that goes the furthest with a defined amount of energy. And it is precisely this challenge that carmakers must overcome. The 919 Hybrid is our fastest mobile research laboratory and the most complex race car that Porsche has ever built."

Porsche 911 2.7 RS values up by nearly 700% in the last 10 years [w/video]

These days if you have a wad of cash to invest in a classic car, Ferrari seems to be the best option. Hagerty's price index for the Italian supercars was up 43 percent in 2014, and Prancing Horses made up eight of the highest-selling vehicles at auction for the year. However, if you really want to watch your funds grow faster than practically any other legal investment, it might be worth setting your sights north of Maranello to Porsche in Germany. According to research from the Discovery Channel, the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS is the quickest-appreciating vehicle in the past decade, at least in the UK. In 2004, prices hovered around 65,000 pounds ($101,350 in current money), but buying one today would set you back over 500,000 pounds ($779,600). Rarer lightweight models go for even more. More than just a solid investment, buyers get what is considered to be the ultimate expression of the early 911. Built as a homologation special for racing, Porsche used the classic tactic of fitting a larger engine to boost power to about 210 horsepower while simultaneously cutting weight. A lower front air dam, extended fenders for wider wheels and ducktail spoiler at the back made sure the grip, aero and styling fit the motorsports attitude. You can get a brief taste of what it's like to drive one of these rare Porsches in the video from The Telegraph below. This one is even for sale, with an ambitious price of around 600,000 pounds ($935,000), and it also features legendary racer Derek Bell's autograph on the ashtray. Hopefully the car's eventual buyer remembers that the RS is a fantastic piece to drive, too, and stretches its legs every once in a while. News Source: The TelegraphImage Credit: The Telegraph Porsche Car Buying Ownership Coupe Performance Classics Videos porsche 911 carrera collector cars classic car values

Watch Jay Leno's Garage work on a Porsche 911 and others

Jay Leno doesn't just own a bunch of cars – he restores them. (Or has people who restores them, at any rate.) For this latest video, he's showing us some of the projects he and his team are currently working on. The tour-de-garage starts with a 1953 Cunningham that had been in storage since '68, complete with a copper grille ready for plating and a 331 Hemi V8. Jay says that every one of the cars that Briggs Cunningham made is still on the road – but that's just one of the dozen or so projects Jay and company are working on. There's a suitably brown '71 Porsche 911 T in near-original condition having sat untouched parked underground in Beverly Hills for decades, and a '58 Chrysler Imperial convertible once driven by Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra, and now getting a brake upgrade. There's a Volvo 122 wagon that's been stripped down, media-blasted, and powder-coated, a thousand-horsepower Rolls-Royce, a 1960 Nash Metropolitan, a supercharged Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, and a 1914 Detroit Electric. And those are just the four-wheeled automobiles. Over in the two-wheeler section there's a pair of Brough Superiors, a BSA, an Indian, and a custom racing sidecar that Jay's mechanic Bernard is working on. In short, Jay Leno's Garage isn't just one where vehicles are kept – it's one where vehicles are brought back to life. Related Video: News Source: Jay Leno's Garage via YouTube Chrysler Mercedes-Benz Porsche Classics Videos Jay Lenos Garage bsa