Separate multiple entries with comma.

2020/12/16 | Stuttgart/Australia | Motorsports | Press Release

Executive Board at Porsche AG approves development of a hybrid racing car

Porsche aims to fight for overall victories at Le Mans and Daytona with an LMDh prototype

Stuttgart/Australia. The Executive Board at Porsche AG has given the green light to the development of an LMDh prototype. After a lengthy evaluation phase, Porsche Motorsport received the order to build a vehicle based on future regulations.

From 2023, the LMDh cars will make up a new top class in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Both championships are hugely significant for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer.

Porsche very much welcomed the introduction of the new class for hybrid prototypes when it was jointly announced by the organisers at ACO/WEC and IMSA. The racing cars, which tip the scales at around 1,000 kilograms, are powered by a hybrid system with an output of 500 kW (680 hp).

“The new LMDh category allows us to fight for overall victories with a hybrid system at the Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring classics – without breaking the bank. The project is extremely attractive for Porsche. Endurance racing is part of our brand’s DNA,” said Oliver Blume, CEO at Porsche AG.

For the first time in more than 20 years, it will be possible to fight for overall victories with identical vehicles at endurance races around the world. Moreover, the new LMDh category focuses on high cost-efficiency. The cars are based on an upgraded LMP2 chassis, and the spec for the hybrid system including the control electronics is standardised. Chassis from four different manufacturers are available. Each brand is free to select the concept for the combustion engine and the body design within the framework of the regulations.

Michael Steiner, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG, adds: “In the medium term, Porsche focuses on three different drive concepts: fully electric vehicles, efficient plug-in hybrids and emotional combustion engines. We want to represent this trilogy in both the development of our cutting-edge road cars and in motorsport. We use the all-electric drive to contest the FIA Formula E as part of our works commitment, and the highly efficient and emotional combustion unit in GT racing. Now, the LMDh class closes the gap for us. There, powerful hybrid drives – like the ones that are mounted in many of our brand’s models – go up against each other. If the regulations eventually allowed the use of synthetic fuels, then that would be an even greater incentive for me in terms of sustainability.”

“I’d like to thank our board of directors for the immense confidence they have in the motorsport strategy we’ve developed,” said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President Motorsport.

“We hold a record with our 19 outright wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and we’ve climbed to the top podium step many times at major races in the USA. We can continue this tradition with an LMDh vehicle while at the same time keeping costs reasonable. There has been huge interest from other manufacturers. I hope we can pick up where we left off with the famous clashes against many other marques in the eighties and nineties. That would give the entire motor racing scene a huge boost.”

High-performance hybrid drives have enjoyed a long and extremely successful tradition at Porsche Motorsport. In 2010 and 2011, the revolutionary Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid set new benchmarks at races on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. At that time, there was no other comparable vehicle with a hybrid drive.

Between 2014 and 2017, the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart underlined its expertise in the field of highly efficient, high-performance hybrid drives with the 919 Hybrid. In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the LMP1 class prototype achieved a hat trick, winning three times in a row at the Le Mans 24 Hour classic. Porsche also clinched the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship titles three times straight.


Further information, film and photo material in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com.au.

Chris Jordan

+61 3 9473 0926

Text

English (Porsche Cars Australia)

Archived

M20_5439

2020/12/16

    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring

Announcement: Porsche aims to fight for overall victories at Le Mans and Daytona with an LMDh prototype

2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5661.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 620 Pixel
File size: 146.44 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5661_fine.jpg
Image size: 3036 x 1883 Pixel
File size: 1.68 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5663.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 466 Pixel
File size: 85.89 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5663_fine.jpg
Image size: 3036 x 1415 Pixel
File size: 1.32 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5662.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 437 Pixel
File size: 97.91 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5662_fine.jpg
Image size: 3150 x 1377 Pixel
File size: 1.44 MB
2019/12/20
    • Company
    • Finance Communication
    • Porsche Group
    • Executive Board
    • Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
    • Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG
File type: Layout image
File name: S19_4222.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 132.74 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: S19_4222_fine.jpg
Image size: 5000 x 3333 Pixel
File size: 4.05 MB
2020/12/15
    • Christophorus Magazine
    • 2020
    • 4
File type: Layout image
File name: P20_0615.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 896 Pixel
File size: 120.82 KB
File type: JPG Large (A3) / RGB
File name: P20_0615_a3_rgb.jpg
Image size: 5040 x 4514 Pixel
File size: 5.14 MB
File type: JPG Small (A5) / RGB
File name: P20_0615_a5_rgb.jpg
Image size: 2520 x 2257 Pixel
File size: 1.43 MB
File type: JPG Medium (A4) / RGB
File name: P20_0615_a4_rgb.jpg
Image size: 3600 x 3224 Pixel
File size: 2.93 MB
2020/08/14
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_2895.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 69.24 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_2895_fine.jpg
Image size: 5314 x 3543 Pixel
File size: 918.67 KB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • Season 2015
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans vLMP1
    • World Endurance Championship LMP1
File type: Layout image
File name: M15_2177.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 628 Pixel
File size: 200.61 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M15_2177_fine.jpg
Image size: 4012 x 2519 Pixel
File size: 2.77 MB
2017/06/18
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • Season 2017
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans vLMP1
    • World Endurance Championship LMP1
    • France \ Le Mans
    • Racingcars
    • 919 Hybrid
File type: Layout image
File name: M17_2930.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 309.49 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M17_2930_fine.jpg
Image size: 4488 x 2992 Pixel
File size: 2.05 MB
2017/06/18
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • Season 2017
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans vLMP1
    • World Endurance Championship LMP1
    • France \ Le Mans
File type: Layout image
File name: M17_2940.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 300.21 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M17_2940_fine.jpg
Image size: 4488 x 2992 Pixel
File size: 1.70 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • Season 2017
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans vLMP1
    • World Endurance Championship LMP1
    • France \ Le Mans
File type: Layout image
File name: M17_2788.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 416.11 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M17_2788_fine.jpg
Image size: 4488 x 2993 Pixel
File size: 2.61 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5447.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 439.58 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5447_fine.jpg
Image size: 5760 x 3840 Pixel
File size: 9.22 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5442.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 714 Pixel
File size: 138.15 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5442_fine.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 714 Pixel
File size: 123.20 KB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5443.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 267.57 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5443_fine.jpg
Image size: 3072 x 2048 Pixel
File size: 1.70 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5441.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 185.45 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5441_fine.jpg
Image size: 5616 x 3744 Pixel
File size: 1.74 MB
2020/12/15
Status: Archived
    • Motorsports
    • 24h Daytona
    • 24 Hours of Le Mans LMDh
    • IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
    • World Endurance Championship LMDh
    • France \ Le Mans
    • USA \ Daytona
    • USA \ Sebring
File type: Layout image
File name: M20_5446.jpg
Image size: 1000 x 667 Pixel
File size: 245.76 KB
File type: JPG Large / RGB
File name: M20_5446_fine.jpg
Image size: 3072 x 2048 Pixel
File size: 1.33 MB