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Porsche planning customer driving center at Le Mans

Porsche seems to be on a campaign to build driving centers for its customers to allow them to experience the capabilities of their cars on track. It has one under way in Los Angeles, another in development at its North American headquarters in Atlanta, and a British center set up at the Silverstone circuit. Now the latest reports indicate that Porsche is planning yet another driving center at Le Mans.
The new facility is earmarked to be built at the Circuit de la Sarthe right by the start/finish line, incorporating the Porsche Curves that bridge the Arnage corner and the Ford Chicanes on the West side of the famous track.
Porsche is reportedly still seeking approval from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest that manages the circuit, and once given the green light, would still take some time to complete. But the idea of driving a 911 flat out on the legendary track is likely to make more than a few mouths water, particularly as the German automaker prepares its full-on assault of the famous endurance race next year.

Super Bowl car commercials: Follow along as we riff on them live

Join Autoblog editors Sunday starting around 6:30 p.m. ET as we react to all of the car commercials during the game. We know Hummer, Porsche, Hyundai and others will have splashy ads, and naturally, there's usually a few surprises. Whether you're a Chiefs or 49ers fan — or don't care about football — the commercials are always a highlight. And for us, the car spots are the most intriguing. Weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section. Let's kick off.   FIRST QUARTER Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore liveblogs the first quarter. F9 We'll count this as a car commercial. The latest edition of the Fast & Furious looks like it well, will have cars. We'll punt on further comment. PORSCHE I like it. Creative. Sort of a Night at the Museum feel. The guards stage a theft and then a car chase. The Taycan looked good. Get fired up — the future for Porsche is electric. The spot is meant to illustrate how fun that can be. I don't need any convincing.    SECOND QUARTER Associate Editor Byron Hurd is liveblogging the second quarter.  HYUNDAI Hyundai checked in super early with their Sonata "Smaht Pahk" commercial, which manages to score points for being both cute and clever while also being a fairly good commercial in a vacuum. We saw it last week, so there were no surprises here, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.  Fun note: If you go to the Sonata landing page on Hyundai's web site, you can choose "plain old English" or "the Boston way" for your language; the latter will translate the page. Enjoy.  FORD Hi ho, West Coast Editor James Riswick here. Apparently, the guys in Detroit didn't get the Mustang Mach E ad featuring Idris Elba and a whole boat load of awesome old Mustangs. Pretty sure it's bound to be viewed the exact same way as the car itself: traditionalists will be aghast, while non-car people will be intrigued by a new, all-electric, crossover version of one of the few cars they've heard of.  GENESIS They're coming more rapidly now. Genesis gets some love thanks to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend; this was another known quantity, but Hyundai's luxury brand managed another solid entry here thanks to its choice of stars. Teigen and Legend got the chance to throw back to the latter's "Sexiest Man Alive" honors, which Teigen often teases him for. Another solid all-around spot.  GMC/HUMMER Are there just no surprises left? Don't tell me; I know the answer. LeBron James fronts the revived Hummer, which will be an EV sold as a GMC.

Weekly Recap: Bentley Bentayga leads luxury SUV charge at Frankfurt

The Bentley Bentayga is launching a new era of ultra high-end sport utility vehicles that will see luxury makers vie for the world's richest and most exclusive customers. The Bentayga is Bentley's first SUV, and it will formally debut next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It's loaded with Bentley's best technology and features, led by a 600-horsepower W12 engine. The mission is simple: stop giving up sales to other companies by not having an SUV in its portfolio. "It creates an entirely new category of ultra-luxury SUV, where there are currently few rivals," IHS Automotive analyst Ian Fletcher said in a report. But Bentley and the Bentayga will soon face stiff competition. Archrival Rolls-Royce will produce its own crossover to be built in England, though timing is unclear. Lamborghini has approved plans for a ute that will be assembled in Italy and launch in 2018. Even the sportier British brands are getting into the market. Aston Martin will make a crossover version of the DBX concept shown earlier this year in Geneva, and Jaguar is launching the F-Pace crossover, which will debut in Frankfurt. These new entries will invigorate a segment that's comprised of the Mercedes G63 AMG and the Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography, and Bentley is poised to grab a large share of it, Fletcher noted. IHS forecasts Bentayga sales could hit 3,000 units per year in 2017 and 2018, pushing total Bentley sales to more than 10,000 in the next few years. The vehicle will also get plug-in hybrid and diesel variants to widen its reach. The Bentayga is a sales grab, for sure, but Bentley took care to ensure the SUV remained true to the brand. It's laden with the top-shelf wood, leather, and metal, and it comes standard with an expansive panoramic glass roof. It also has intelligent features like electronic night vision and an optional responsive off-road system that can be configured to adapt to eight different settings. It's a different kind of Bentley, but it's a harbinger of things to come for the world's richest luxury makers. Other News & Notes Toyota debuts next-gen Prius Toyota revealed the next-generation of its iconic fuel-sipping hybrid, the 2016 Prius, at an event in Las Vegas. The car promises 10-percent gains in fuel efficiency, though actual figures – and even powertrain specifics – were not revealed. We estimate that could mean about 56 miles per gallon in city driving and 53 on the highway.