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Nissan's Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Nissan is working away on its ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) which is still on pace for a Le Mans arrival in 2014. As of right now, the DeltaWing-shaped car's carbon-fiber tub and chassis have been completed. The next step will be installing the twin electric motors and fitting the seat of driver and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. If the current schedule sticks, the zero-emissions racer will hit a UK track for test laps in September.
But while those initial shakedown laps will be under full electric power, it's unclear whether the setup fielded in the UK will survive until Le Mans. Nissan itself says that it will be testing a number of "electrified" drivetrains ahead of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a significant departure from race car design - usually, the teams know what's powering their car before they start building it.
"Just developing a single powertrain option in only 12 months would be a mammoth task but we're looking to carefully examine a number of options to ascertain which will be best suited for Le Mans," said Darren Cox, Nissan's global motorsport director. Take a look below for a video and press release from Nissan documenting the ZEOD RC's build process.

2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo to pack 595 hp, lap N"urburgring in 7:08

With two major auto shows taking place this week on different sides of the globe, the amount of news being posted across the internet is reaching a fever pitch. Naturally, things happen, trigger fingers get itchy and stories get leaked, which is apparently how we came across this spate of premature pictures and information on the eagerly anticipated Nissan GT-R Nismo.
Packing 595 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V6, the Nismo-fied GT-R should be a serious kick in the pants when run hard. The new power is thanks to a number of donor parts from the GT-R Nismo GT3 racecar, bits that include larger turbochargers, revised intake and exhaust systems and new ignition timing.
Thanks to the engine enhancements, and, we imagine, a few other tweaks to the chassis, brakes and aerodynamics that have yet to be published, the GT-R Nismo is said to blitz the Nürburgring in just 7:08, a mere 11 seconds slower than the $845,000 Porsche 918 Spyder. For a car that is rumored to cost well under a quarter of the price, that performance is just immense.

Daimler consulting with Ford about 3-cylinder engines

Soon enough, Ford will offer its 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine under the hood of the Fiesta here in the United States, building on the success of the small powerplant overseas. In fact, this success has caused other automakers to take notice, and according to Automotive News Europe, Daimler is now talking to Ford about this engine for use in its own products.
In other markets, Ford offers the 1.0-liter mill under the hood of the Focus (we had the chance to sample this package on our home turf), as well as the B-Max MPV. For this new collaboration, Daimler would use the turbo-three in the next-generation Smart ForTwo, as well as the Renault Twingo, which the German automaker will be collaborating on as part of its alliance with Renault-Nissan. Speaking to AN, a Mercedes-Benz engineer called the 1.0-liter mill an "interesting and impressive engine."
In exchange for details about the EcoBoost inline-three, Daimler will supply Ford with information regarding its Euro6 stratified lean-burn gasoline engine, which is found in the new E-Class sedan.