Porsche has officially introduced the 919 Hybrid at the ongoing Geneva Motor Show.
The Porsche 919 is a LMP1 contender with a hybrid system consisting of a newly developed single-turbo V4 2.0-liter direct-injection gasoline mill working with a front axle-mounted electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. The engine revs up to 9,000 rpm and sends its power to the rear wheels while the electric component provides drive to the front wheels so the 919 Hybrid offers temporary AWD.
It has received two energy recovery systems in the form of brake energy recuperation and a thermal energy recovery system incorporated in the exhaust system. It also comes with an eight megajoule / lap energy recuperation boost function, which is the maximum allowed under current LMP1 rules. The model has been developed to fully respect all LMP1 regulations which impose a maximum length of 4,650mm, up to 1,900mm width and 1,050mm height.
Porsche claims that the 919 Hybrid has spent no less than 2,000 hours testing in the wind tunnel ahead of the racecar’s participation at Le Mans this June with its drivers, namely, Mark Webber, Neel Jani, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas along with works drivers Marc Lieb and Brendon Hartley.
