Porsche LMP1 Prototype Racer Takes Its First Laps
If you thought the fastest Porsche in the world was the brand’s new 918 Spyder, think again. While it may be the fastest production car in the German sports car maker’s stable, behold its 24 Hours of Le Mans entry scheduled for next year.
While no stats (and we mean none) are available on the new prototype endurance racer, Porsche has released a selection of photos as the car takes its first laps at the brand’s test track at Weissach. Driven by Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard, he commented that, “Already now the car feels great. I look forward to testing the vehicle in the coming weeks and months with my friend and colleague Romain Dumas.”
The car itself is believed to be a gasoline-electric hybrid. Hinting at that, Porsche R&D boss Wolfgang Hatz commented that, “Our aim was to achieve the best possible efficiency without compromising performance.”
That hybrid technology is expected to make its way into all future Porsche models.
“The engineers were able to start with a blank sheet of paper in the design of the new LMP1 car that was out here today on the Weissach race track for the first time,” said Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. “Hence, they were able to apply many new technologies within the framework of the regulations that will also benefit the customers of our road legal automobiles in the future. After all, there’s a race car in every Porsche.”
Fritz Enzinger, head of Porsche’s LMP1 program commented that, “We are well on schedule. Our newly formed team has worked with utmost concentration on getting this highly complex vehicle on the track as soon as possible. This allows us a few additional weeks for more testing and further development. From 2014, the regulations are primarily based on efficiency. This makes the competition amongst engineers more interesting and presents us with completely new challenges.”
Porsche will compete with the LMP1 prototype in the 2014 World Endurance Championship (WEC) and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year 2014.
GALLERY: Porsche LMP1 Prototype
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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