This morning the Porsche 919 Hybrid entered the Porsche Museum with the utmost class. Escorted and approved by the authorities, Mark Webber and Marc Lieb drove two Le Mans prototypes from Porsche’s research and development centre in Weissach to the Museum in Zuffenhausen.
The two drivers did 25 kilometres from Number 911, Porschestraße to Number 1, Porscheplatz – managing together more than 2000 hp in public traffic. Part of the welcome ceremony for the successful racing cars was a reading from the book “Legendary – The Porsche 919 Hybrid Project”, which will go on the market in December. The reading was performed by Dietmar Wunder, well-known as the German voice of Daniel Craig, alias James Bond 007.
Mark Webber (42, Australia) was at the wheel of the 919 Evo, which provides a system output of 1160 hp. The Evo is the ultimate development of the 919, with which Neel Jani broke Formula One’s qualifying record at Spa-Francorchamps in April 2018 and Timo Bernhard set an absolute track record at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in June.
The Porsche 919 Hybrid was a rolling laboratory for future technologies. In WEC specification it generated around 900 hp (662 kW) system output from a compact two-litre V4 turbo petrol engine (almost 500 hp/368 kW) in combination with two different energy recovery systems – brake energy from the front axle and exhaust energy. While the combustion engine drove the rear axle, an e-motor powered the front axle with over 400 hp (294 kW). The energy generated from the brakes and the exhaust was temporarily stored in a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery. In particular, the system’s 800-Volt technology turned out to be a pioneer for the purely electric sports cars from Porsche that will come to market in 2019.
For the record-breaking Evo version, the hardware in the drivetrain remained untouched but was freed of the regulations’ restrictions: Without limitations on energy from fuel and recovery systems, the 919 could realise its full potential. Using the same fuel (with 20 per cent bio-ethanol), software updates led to a system output of 1160 hp. Everything that wasn’t needed for a single fast lap was taken off the car – reducing its weight by 39 kilograms to 849 kilograms. Active aerodynamic devices, a brake-by-wire system for all wheels and, given the higher aerodynamic force, stronger suspension and specially developed Michelin tyres also helped to increase performance.
