Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Porsche have left the World Endurance Championship and to say goodbye, they have built something pretty mental (oh and its faster than an F1 car at Spa...).
Most people who know motorsport know Porsche are a cool brand, with racing in the very DNA of the organisation, however that didn't prevent the German's from walking away from the World Endurance Championship at the end of 2017, putting an end to a very successful stay in the top level of long distance endurance racing after four years and three drivers World Championships.
With the withdrawal from WEC competition many expected that would be the last we see of the beautiful and successful 919 Hybrid machine, however Porsche had different ideas, and decided to go build something pretty insane. Why? Because they can...
Basically with the WEC Porsche Hybrid participation now at a close, the Germans decided that with such a lovely car about to head straight into a museum, it might be fun to a have a play with what is possible to see how fast they can make it, once the restrictions for racing in WEC competition have been removed. Born from madness and delivering something awesome, Porsche came back to the track again today with a car they call the 919 Evo, employing Neel Jani to take to the Spa Francorchamps circuit in a bid to go faster than an LMP 1 car has ever gone before. Unsurprisingly Jani did just that, lapping the legendary Belgian circuit in an incredible new lap record time of 1.41.770 seconds, 0.783 faster than the previous lap record of Lewis Hamilton from the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix weekend!
With such an incredible track debut of the new car, the first of several scheduled during the 2018 season as Porsche embark on a year long "farewell tour", Team Principal Andreas Seidl announced himself delighted with the success of the latest project:
“This additional success is the result of the LMP team’s hard work and a proud day for the engineers. One can only congratulate Neel and the entire crew for achieving it. All six 2017 LMP1 drivers contributed to the project. It was our target to show the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s abilities when we ease the restrictions that came from the World Endurance Championship regulations.”
Topping out at 245.61 kph during his record run this morning, Jani admitted the 919 Evo is the most impressive racing car the 34-year-old Swiss has driven during his career, including many Porsches during what has been a very successful period with the German marque in GT and endurance racing:
“The 919 Evo is brutally impressive. It is definitely the fastest car I ever drove. The grip level is at a fully new dimension for me, I couldn’t imagine this amount beforehand. The speed on which everything happens on a single lap with the 919 Evo is that fast that the demand on reaction speed is very different to what I was used to in the WEC. We are not only faster than the F1 pole from 2017. Today’s lap was twelve seconds faster compared to our WEC pole position from last year! We have had three very intense days at Spa. Today I knew on the very first lap in the morning that the car’s performance was super. The race engineers did a great job setting up the car and the Michelin tyres are sensational. A big thank you to Porsche for this experience.”
Porsche will continue the farewell tour with appearances at the Nordschleife before the start of the 24-Hours Nürburgring race on May 12. Drives at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 12 to 15) and the Festival of Porsche in Brands Hatch (September 2) will follow as well as the car’s participation at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion in Laguna Seca, California (September 26 to 29).
Who said motorsport wasn't awesome?
You can check the video here.
So, what exactly have Porsche done to the already lightening fast 919 Hybrid? Well this:
Monocoque
Composite material structure consisting of carbon fibre with an aluminium honeycomb core. The cockpit is closed.
Combustion engine
V4 engine (90 degree cylinder bank angle), turbocharged, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, 1 Garrett turbocharger, direct petrol injection, fully load-bearing aluminium cylinder crankcase, dry sump lubrication
Max. engine speed: ≈ 9,000/min
Engine management
Bosch MS5
Displacement
2,000 cm3 (V4 engine)
Output
Combustion engine: 720 PS, rear axle (< 500 PS)
MGU: 440 PS, front axle (> 400 PS)
Hybrid system
KERS with a motor generator unit (MGU) mounted on the front axle; ERS for recuperation of energy from exhaust gases. Energy storage in a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with cells from A123 Systems
Drive system
Rear wheel drive, traction control (ASR), temporary all-wheel drive at the front axle via the electric motor when boosted, hydraulically operated sequential 7-speed racing gearbox
Chassis
Independent front and rear wheel suspension, push-rod layout with adjustable dampers and Pitch Link System with actively controlled lockout system (no actively controlled lockout system in the 919 WEC version)
Brake system
4-wheel brake-by-wire system (front-rear brake-by-wire system), monoblock light alloy brake calipers, ventilated carbon fibre brake discs front and rear.
Variable control of wheel torques to optimize the car balance (variable control of torque distribution front to rear)
Wheels and tyres
Forged magnesium wheel rims from BBS; Michelin Radial tyres, front and rear: 310/710-18
Weight: 849 kg (888 kg including driver ballast)
Length: 5,078 mm (4,650 mm)
Width: 1,900 mm
Height: 1,050 mm
Fuel tank capacity: 62.3 litres
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Impressed with the 919 Evo? Do you like what Porsche are trying to achieve with this farewell tour? Impressed with the performance of the enhanced "new" car? Let us know in the comments section below!
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