Mazda and Porsche race cars unveiled at the LA Auto Show

Jonathan Gitlin

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Unusually, Mazda and Porsche chose this year's LA Auto Show to reveal to the world their latest racing cars. In fact, a host of racing machinery was on display at the LA Convention Center, joining the regular mix of new production cars and cool concepts. Normally, race cars get unveiled at pre-season tests or at the beginning of the year, so for both companies to choose LA as their venue is a vote of confidence for the health—and importance—of their factory racing efforts.

Mazda RT24-P

Let's take a look at the Mazda RT24-P first. It's built to contest the IMSA's WeatherTech Sportscar Championship's Daytona Prototype International class, an offshoot of the LMP2 category that runs at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship. But LMP2 is a pro-am class. Although teams can choose a chassis from four different constructors, they all have to run the same kind of engine and electronics. IMSA's DPI category, on the other hand, is for OEM-supported teams, and it has given car companies like Mazda a little more freedom to use their own engines, ECUs, and body work.

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