That sexy black and white vehicle above that could pass off as a Carrera GT’s slightly better looking twin is Porsche’s new 918 Spyder in what could be a close example of a final production form (looks wise, at least).

The last time we saw the 918 Spyder, it was merely just another beautiful concept that was probably destined to stay as just a concept. It featured an insanely complicated prototype plug-in hybrid powertrain including two powerful electric motors, a gasoline engine, and some weird power booster device that look like the star of a porno made for the Flux Capacitor.

But instead of condemning one of the most beautiful Porsches ever to a life of a once-in-the-lime-light concept, the folks at Stuttgart have decided to refine the 918 Spyder and make a production vehicle for road use.

What they have created is an absolutely stunning sports car that will put down 770 horses at a massively eco-friendly fuel burning rate of 74 MPG.

God bless zee Germans!

Don’t get too excited though. With great technology comes great price tags. A production version of the Porsche 918 will cost you an estimated $850,000 and like all nutso supercars that seem more mythical than unicorn blood, it will most certainly be unbelievably limited.

Still though….sitting in its current black and white livery, a tribute to the classic Porsche 917, it is something any gearhead will tell you the world is a better place with.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

[Porsche]

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing qualifies for first overall at Laguna Seca

Time to fire up that xbox360, laptop, or wait for the cable rebroadcast of the 6 hours of American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patrón

This is the 2nd, and last stop, for ALMS on the west coast. Something interesting tidbits going into the race on Saturday.

* Aston Martin took pole, in GT, during qualifying. Very nice to see them perform so well, so quickly.

* Muscle Milk Pickett Racing sits on pole in P1, a first for them. Klaus Graf laid down a blistering 1:13.573 qualifying time one the 2.238 mile course.

* RSR landed a pole in their class of PC. Perhaps the jump from the GT Jaguars to Oreca FLM09 was a good move for them.

* Green Hornet Racing took their pole in the GTC class. Another strong outing from them.

What to watch for:

* As always, the GT battle. With Aston Martin Racing taking a pole, there’s a BIG ‘ol bullseye on them. The Flying Lizards need a solid outing. And let’s hope the development of Lotus Evora continues at a solid pace.

* In P1, the the back and fourth of Muscle Milk Picket Racing and Dyson Racing. If you recall, Muscle Milk dumped their V12 Aston Martin powered P1 machine from last year to a new Acura/HPD ARX-03a. Acura/HPD P1 and P2 cars have historically done well at Laguna. Dyson has continued development with their Lola / Mazda turbo charged engine. If Muscle Milk doesn’t “run off with it at the start”, expect some solid racing between the two teams.

* In P2, the entrance of a new P2 competitor, Dempsey Racing. Yes, THAT Patrick Dempsey…and a welcome one at that. Since this is a new car – they were just putting on the livery as of Thursday – don’t expect a podium from them. They need some time to develop it a bit more. And yes, Patrick Dempsey is racing it, as well as Joe Foster, and from the UK, Johnny Cocker. Expect the 055 Level 5 Motorsports car to win. They’ve been solid all week.

You can catch the live HD stream of all 6 hours on espn3.com / xbox live / alms.com starting at 4:15pm EDT today. Or the ESPN2 rebroadcast on Sunday, starting at 5pm EDT.

And if you need a refresher on the various ways to watch an ALMS race, do the clicky thing here.

[photo: Mike Gillilan]

Automotive legend Carroll Shelby passed away today. He was 89.

Shelby needs no introduction here. If you consider yourself to be any sort of gearhead, Shelby is a household name. Even up till his final days, Carroll’s company was making headlines and turning heads with the latest iteration of the absolutely jaw dropping yet entirely economical 200mph+ 2013 Shelby GT500.

Normally, an in-depth look at the man’s history with tuning and racing would be in order here, but Jalopnik posted an article today that I think sums up Shelby’s ability to turn your ordinary sports car into something truly remarkable (and in this case terrifying). Make sure you listen to all 13 minutes of the video- it’s most definitely worth the time. You can find that article here.

RIP Carroll Shelby: 1923-2012

Jerry Seinfeld is apparently coming back to TV with a new reality show about cars he’s appropriately calling Comics & Cars. For those of you who don’t already know, Seinfeld is probably one of the most well-known celebrity car guys, second only to Jay Leno. He’s also a celebrity who’s career has been mundane at best after his self-title hit TV sitcom ended in 1998. I mean, let’s face it- did anyone really enjoy Bee Movie or The Marriage Ref?

This time, Seinfeld isn’t taking the routes of animated insect voice-overs or giving couple’s counseling, but rather sticking to what he knows best: being funny and cars. What Comics & Cars episodes will actually consist of is still largely unknown right now, but according to the NY Post it should feature Seinfeld and his celebrity comic buddies driving around in old classic cars while making witty banter and letting the world know how they lost their virginity in a 1970 Barracuda.

With the “entertaining automotive show” standard already set so high by Top Gear, Comics & Cars get’s a big “meh” from us until we have a bit more to go off of. We can’t even speculate on a launch date for the show right now, but when we have Mr. Chris Harris pumping out easily the best car review videos in the world on a near weekly basis, there’s no rush, Jerry.

[NY Post]

We knew local videographer extraordinaire Josh Clason was up to something when he tweeted a picture of a classic Skyline. It is also a pretty safe bet that when there is a classic Skyline, JDM Legends is involved. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

This latest JDM Legends creation began life way back in 1970 as a Skyline 2000 GT. Once the JDM maestros got it across the pond and into their magic-making shops, it was transformed into a lusty GTR. That transformation wasn’t easy, requiring extensive engine, drive train, exterior and interior restoration and upgrades.

Josh was invited by Eric and Ryan of JDM Legends to document the project’s final shakedown before the customer took delivery. Josh artfully captures the reborn GTR as it screams around Miller Motorsports Park. He had this to say about the experience:

“…the sound of this car is worthy of its looks and is a sound I won’t soon forget.”

He’s right. The sound this car makes literally caused us all to have a “crisis”. We can’t stop watching it! We need to stop though, because we’re running out of clean undewears!

Check out more of Josh’s work at depthofspeed.com. You’ll definitely be glad you did. Also, if you’re in the market for some vintage Japanese metal, visit our friends at JDM Legends. Tell them the Daily Derbi sent you.

[Brandon Christiansen]