Porsche has a knack for making fast cars, especially race cars. The Porsche 956 Group C in which Stefan Bellof set the record for the fastest lap around the Nurburgring in 1983 (6:11.13) is a case in point. As far as endurance racing is concerned, Porsche holds the record for the most constructors’ titles. In 2016, the German manufacturer plans to add yet another Le Mans title under its belt.
In its quest to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the eighteenth time since 1970, the Stuttgart-based company has prepared this - the 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid. It’s an LMP1 sports prototype race car that Porsche hopes it’s fast and reliable enough to obliterate the competition, especially the Audi R18.
Fritz Enzinger, the vice president of LMP1 at Porsche AG, is pretty confident about his latest brainchild: “The over 900 hp strong Le Mans Prototype is ready for the title defense.” Porsche has prepared three aerodynamic packages in total because that’s the maximum allowed. Compared to last year’s Le Mans fighter, engineers reduced the weight of the 2.0-liter V4 turbo engine and made it more fuel efficient.
Furthermore, the two energy recovery systems are more efficient and the electric drive unit has become more powerful. When the electric motor at the front axle kicks in, the 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid becomes an all-wheel-drive thingamajig. When the driver calls up the electric get-up-and-go, nigh on 400 horsepower are sent to the front axle for a combined output of a little over 900 horsepower.
The senior audience may remember that the Porsche 917/30 produced a mind-boggling 1,580 horsepower in qualifying tune back in the 1970s, but hey, the times they are a-changhin’. Porsche's works team will field two cars this season. Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley, and Timo Bernhard will take turns behind the wheel of the #1 car and Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, and Marc Lieb will race the #2 car.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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