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F430 Scuderia latest Ferrari to take on FIA GT3

Try and follow us if you can. Ferrari built the F430, which in turn led to the development of the F430 Challenge. That eventually turned into the F430 Scuderia, and now Kessel Racing has built the F430 Scuderia GT3. It's a road car turned race car turned road car turned race car. Got that? If anything, it's a great example of the extent to which motorsports is intertwined with Ferrari's DNA. Pending approval from the FIA, the Swiss race team plans to field the car in the GT3 class and take on Lamborghini, Corvette, Aston Martin, Porsche, Ford, and more. Two other teams, JMB Racing and CRS Racing, have also expressed interest in competing with the car as well. If everything goes as planned, the Scuderia GT3 will make its debut during the first race of the season on May 3 at Silverstone.

AC Cars unveils Cobra MkVI gullwing in Monaco:Old is New Again

Chevrolet Corvette engine? Porsche brakes? Assembled in Germany? This doesn't sound like the AC Cobra we know, but lo and behold, it is what it is. Amidst the myriad Cobra replicars on the market, the original AC Cars, which touts itself as the UK's oldest automaker, has released details on the latest version of its classic sportscar. The updated retro-minded sports car is slated to make its official debut later this month at the prestigious Top Marques show in Monaco.

An assembly contract with German manufacturer Gullwing GmbH has the latest Cobra assembled in Heyda, Germany, and fitted with a lightweight removable hardtop complete with – you guessed it – gullwing doors. The aluminum body over tubular space-frame chassis weighs just 2,260 lbs and is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 sourced from the Corvette, tuned to produce 437 hp in standard GT trim or a whopping 647 hp in GTS spec, which we'll surmise comes courtesy of a supercharger. Stopping power is provided by Porsche-sourced four-piston calipers and vented discs (332mm front, 298mm rear). Acceleration? Try 0-62 in a scant 3.3 seconds. Now that sounds more like the Cobra we know.

BMW M3 GT4 to campaign in Nurburgring 24-hour enduro

BMW is far and away the most prolific automaker at the annual 24-hour Nurburgring race, with 114 class victories over the event's 29-year history and almost one-third of last year's field comprised of Bimmers. This year, BMW's Customer Racing program will partner with Schubert Motorsport to bring out a BMW M3 GT4 to campaign in the GT4 class, with FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers Agusto Farfus, Jorg Muller and Andy Priaulx joining two journalists from German magazine Sport Auto.

The M3 GT4, which benefits from all the race-ready hardware you'd expect in a vehicle prepped for a 24-hour enduro, made its debut at last weekend's ADAC Westfalenfahrt at the 'Ring, taking the win in the SP10 class and finishing 30th overall. The M3 will be back at the Nordschleife for the 24 hour race the weekend of May 23 and 24.

NISSAN CONFIRM FIA GT & SUPER GT TEAMS

With so much doom and gloom in the car industry at the moment, its great to pass on some exciting positive news coming out of Nissan Motorsports.

Nissan today announced its 2009 Super GT programme, but the main news was the plan to develop the FiA GT1 NISMO GT-R during 2009, in preparation for the 2010 season with Gigaware Motorsport.

Gigaware Motorsport have previous experience running a Aston Martin DBR9, in addition to having the ex- Ferrari team manager, Nigel Stepney (!) as their team manager.

The team plan to enter 4 races in 2009, as non-championship entries. Drivers are expected to be Michael Krumm and Darren Turner. Excellent choices!

Full technical spec is unclear, but as AWD is not allowed in GT1, the racecar will be rear wheel drive!

Note this car will run to 2010 FiA GT1 rules, different to current ALMS GT1 rules.

In Super GT, each of the four teams (NISMO, HASEMI, IMPUL and KONDO) will have one chassis each. Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer remain with the NISMO team.

The GT500 machine has new air-cooling, paddle shift transmission and revised aerodynamics following some rule changes. Nissan will continue to support the privateer Fairlady (350)Z’s in GT300.