The German engineers focused on efficiency and put the racer on a series diet, which resulted in a 20 percent weight reduction for the electric components (overall weight down from 1,350 kg to 1,300 kg). Porsche claims that that aim of the new vehicle is to achieve a lap time identical to that of its predecessor but while sipping less fuel.
The overall layout of the car was kept, so we get a portal axle with two electric units that power the front wheels and add power to the 470 hp four-liter flat six that powers the rear axle. Each electric motor has had its output increased from 60 to 75 kW. This means that the boost that can be used by pilots reaches almost 200 hp, which can be used for several seconds. In addition to that, the electric flywheel accumulator, which uses a rotor that spins up to 40,000 rpm, is now housed together with other hybrid components in a carbon fiber safety box, which is placed on the passenger’s side.
As the hybrid system’s high voltage components were optimized, the generously-sized air intakes placed in front of the rear fenders were removed, reducing drag.
The cockpit has also received a makeover, with the steering wheel now housing most of the displays and controls. The engineers improved ergonomic for night time racing.
“We’ve collected a great deal of information from our races on the Nurburgring, at the ALMS race at Road Atlanta in the USA, as well as from the ILMC race on China’s Zhuhai circuit, which was an invaluable help for the further development of our racing laboratory,” says Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport. “The emphasis of our work was on improving efficiency. That means we want to keep the lap times consis-tent with 2010 but use less energy, hence less fuel. In this way, we support future developments of road-going, sporting hybrid vehicles.”
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