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A few pre-race notes and a lot of photos from the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on.
Audi has won 12 of the last 15 events, the scion of Auto Union is trying to make it 13 this year. To do so, it will have to overcome a situation faced only three other times during its dominance of La Sarthe: underdog status. Toyota has won the first two races of the year and claimed pole for this race, the rumor being that this year it's Toyota's race to lose.
And then there's Porsche. It's been 16 years since the Stuttgart brand raced on the top rung at Le Mans, three years years since it announced its return, just a year since it acquired Mark Webber in a signing that wasn't subtle and a few months since we got eyes on the 919 Hybrid.

Chris Harris condemns demonization of Porsche Carrera GT in wake of Walker death

When something bad happens, it's easy to resort to scapegoating. At least for some of us, that seems to be exactly what has happened following the tragic death of actor Paul Walker and racer Roger Rodas, who were killed on November 30 in a Porsche Carrera GT. Even though officials have not yet determined the cause of the crash, that isn't stopping many theories from being put for - theories that include blaming the Porsche supercar. Rather predictably, not only is the CGT's difficult nature getting examined, but indeed, the nature of all high-performance cars is being put under the public's microscope, with some wondering what the need for all the power is.
A Google search of "Porsche Carrera GT" will find no shortage of articles about the razor-sharp handling and outright speed of the CGT. Pistonheads' Chris Harris has a different, insightful take on both the Carrera GT and the nature of all fast cars. He reflects on the matter, ironically, en route to drive the successor to the car that killed Walker and Rodas, the 900-horsepower 918 Spyder hybrid supercar.
We think it's well worth a read, as it makes a number of good points about modern high-performance automobiles and the way they're used. Click over and take a look.

Porsche Panamera gets new diesel in time for Frankfurt

Diesel may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Porsche, but in the European market - that vital one which Porsche calls home - diesels are indispensable. Particularly when you're trying to extend beyond niche sports cars and into the mainstream luxury sedan market as Zuffenhausen has with the Panamera. In fact, diesels account for 15 percent of Panamera sales worldwide (even though they're not offered Stateside), so to keep oil-burning customers happy, Porsche has announced a series of upgrades.
Set to be unveiled in the flesh at the fast-approaching Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Panamera Diesel packs 300 horsepower. That's 50 hp (or 20 percent) more than the model it replaces, significantly dropping the 0-62 sprint from 6.8 seconds to 6 flat, and raising top speed from 152 miles per Autobahn-crunching hour to 161. While they were at it, Porsche's engineers also fitted the rear differential with torque vectoring (previously reserved for gasoline-burning models) and retuned the transmission and suspension.
You can delve into the press release below for all the details - including the new model's improved towing capacity! - but the reality, for better or worse, is that the Panamera Diesel isn't offered here. So if you've been celebrating Labor Day (or even Labour Day, for our friends to the north) like we have, don't go looking for it at your local dealer, who will have only a Cayenne Diesel to show you instead.