Endurance racing fans are in for a real treat this season, which will see Porsche making its highly anticipated return to the LMP1 class. Their weapon of choice, the 919 Hybrid, will take on the Audi R18 e-tron quattro and the Toyota TS040 Hybrid and the consensus is that Stuttgart may have a shot at winning the 2014 World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The new season won’t start until April 20, when the first race is scheduled to take place at Silverstone, but the Porsche 919 Hybrid is already on display at the Geneva Motor Show in full track livery. We haven’t been able to look under its huge engine cover, but we already know that the 919 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged V4 engine that revs up to 9,000 rpm, while two energy recovery systems are set to provide additional horsepower.
Development of the new hybrid racer began in 2011 - on a blank sheet of paper - and although it lacked the experience of their LMP1 competitors, Porsche used the know-how acquired with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the 918 Spyder. The result? In Porsche’s own words: “maximum sporting performance within tight fuel economy constraints”.
Christened 919 to pay tribute to both the iconic 917 and the new 918 supercar, the hybrid racer can’t really be associated with the race car that ruled the tracks back in the early 1970s. But this might change if the 919 will manage to block Audi from winning yet another WEC trophy this year. Let the best machine win!
Development of the new hybrid racer began in 2011 - on a blank sheet of paper - and although it lacked the experience of their LMP1 competitors, Porsche used the know-how acquired with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the 918 Spyder. The result? In Porsche’s own words: “maximum sporting performance within tight fuel economy constraints”.
Christened 919 to pay tribute to both the iconic 917 and the new 918 supercar, the hybrid racer can’t really be associated with the race car that ruled the tracks back in the early 1970s. But this might change if the 919 will manage to block Audi from winning yet another WEC trophy this year. Let the best machine win!