It’s been a long, nail-biting wait, but here it is. This is the 919 Hybrid, in full racing livery, that will take Porsche back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014.
[Not a valid template]Gone are the days regrettably of the Martini Racing colours (the Williams Formula 1 team apparently have first dibs on that for 2014), Porsche instead opting for a much subtler, silver hue in deference to the company colours. The new Porsche 911 RSR – which has already claimed class honours in this year’s 24 Hours of Daytona – bears a matching livery, and will be piloted this season by Jörg Bergmeister, Marco Holzer, Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki, Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy.
The LMP1 prototype – to be driven by Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb, Brendon Hartley, Neel Jani and former Red Bull F1 man Mark Webber throughout the 2014 World Endurance Championship season – is powered by a 2.0-litre single-turbocharged four cylinder petrol engine, complete – as the name rather gives away – with a hybrid system including a generator directing power to the front axle, a version of which has also been stuffed into the new Porsche 918 Spyder. This gives the 919 temporary all-wheel drive and much better traction before full power from the four-cylinder is directed to the rear wheels. At full pelt, said powerplant can rev to an eyeball watering 9000rpm, and we can only imagine how that must feel down the Mulsanne Straight.
Oh, and if you can peel the peepers away from this offering at the Porsche stage in Geneva, the Stuttgart squad will also be showcasing the new 911 Targa and Macan S.
