Gates 31284 Oil Cap on 2040-parts.com

Nissan aiming to build radically different 2015 Le Mans prototype

By Ben Pulman 12 December 2013 12:00 Nissan is targeting an entry into the 2015 Le Mans 24hrs with a race car that will be radically different to the LMP1 prototypes fielded by Porsche, Audi and Toyota. Nissan will compete at Le Mans in 2014 with the radical ZEOD RC, filling the ‘experimental competitor’ pit garage last used in 2012 by the Nissan-powered DeltaWing, but it wants to use that experience to build a challenger for the premier LMP1 category in 2015, one that stands out from the rest of the field. ‘We have an active programme now,’ Nissan chief planning officer Andy Palmer (pictured, right) told CAR.

One Lap of the Web: We invented the Miata!

-- Sochi or bust! Is there anything more Russian than driving a Lada Niva to the Winter Olympics? (Flagrant corruption, perhaps.) Documentary producer Vlad Ketkovich calls the venerable Niva "the closest thing to an automotive version of the Russian soul," and we'd wager that the Niva belongs in quintessential Russian-ness next to the Bolshoi Ballet and the movie "Russian Ark." (Or "Ninth Company," if your attention span has been blown to bits.) -- A gorgeous Alfa Romeo ventures into the woods by itself.

Porsche Panamera revealed at Shanghai Motor Show

Porsche has finally officially revealed the Porsche Panamera at the Shanghai Motor Show As we’ve said before, the Panamera is not the most stunning looking of cars, and is left in the wake of the Aston Martin Rapide in the style department. But it would seem to us that Porsche is going to have another Cayenne-like success on its hands with the Panamera. As with the Cayenne, its looks are criticised, but it does everything else so remarkably well, and has the kudos of the Porsche badge, and it’s hard to see how it will fail.