Last weekend's Le Mans Test was our first opportunity to capture the all new Ferrari 458 Italia GT2. Developed over the winter by experts Michelotto, the GT2 racer has very big shoes to fill; it replaces the F430 GTC, which won its class in every major race and championship at least once. The striking 458 Italia road car formed the starting point for the new car, which is equipped with a very aggressive body-kit. The performance of the 4.5 litre V8 has been cut to 'just' 465 bhp due to the mandatory restrictors on the air intakes. That nevertheless did not prevent the 458 Italia GT2 from clocking the fastest time in the GTE class; the Farnbacher entered machine was the only GT to break the four-minute barrier.
Making its debut at the Test was the even newer Lotus Evora GTE. It represents, Lotus' first foray into top level sports car racing in over a decade and is part of the company's very ambitious plans for the future. The two Evoras at the test were clearly still very fresh and had only been briefly shaken down before coming to Le Mans. There had not even been time to apply the lovely blue and white livery of the JetAlliance Racing team that runs the cars for Lotus. The quickest Evora GTE was just under ten seconds adrift from the Ferrari but we expect there is a lot more to come from the very compact Lotus.
Porsche, today, announced another addition to the company's road car range; the 997 GT3 RS 4.0. As the name suggests it uses a larger, four litre version of the venerable flat six engine, which is also found in the various 997 competition cars. It produces just under 500 bhp and is installed in a very hardcore 997 chassis with carbon fibre body-panels and a plexiglass rear window to keep it as light as possible. The car even sports competition-inspired deflection vanes on the sides of the front bumper that create additional downforce. The 997 GT3 RS 4.0 will be available from July and production will be limited to just 600 examples.

Enjoy the links:

2011 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 - Images, Specifications and Information

2011 Lotus Evora GTE - Images, Specifications and Information

2011 Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 - Images, Specifications and Information