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2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid sharpens up to defend its titles

Porsche made a clean sweep of LMP1 racing last season, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship for both drivers and manufacturers. And now that it's back on top of the podium, it's not about to step down again without putting up a fight. To that end, witness the newly revised 919 Hybrid. Revealed ahead of the season's start with the Prologue event at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, the 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid is an evolution of the version that debuted in 2014 and trounced the competition in 2015. But Audi and Toyota – with their similarly revised R18 and TS050 – will be at least as hungry this year to dethrone Porsche as Porsche will be to retain its titles, so the racing engineers in Weissach have made made a number of revisions. The chassis and basic engine architecture, of course, are the same, with a two-liter turbocharged V4 assisted by a brake energy recovery system at the front and exhaust energy recuperation at the back. But the engine now uses less fuel, so it can run longer between pit stops – a vital element of the strategy when racing for hours on end. The aerodynamics were made more adjustable so that the team can switch between three packages depending on the type of track they're running. While they were at it, those notoriously exacting German engineers managed to cut some excess weight out as well. And instead of the three different color liveries like last year, this season the 919 Hybrid will run under a common livery of black, white, and red – which hopefully won't get mixed up with those of its rivals from Audi and Toyota. We guess we'll all find out when the season kicks off in earnest at Silverstone in mid-April. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, LMP1 Ready for title defence: the new Porsche 919 Hybrid Stuttgart. World debut of the new 919 Hybrid: Two days before the official Prologue for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Paul Ricard, France, Porsche is presenting its race car for this season. Strong development characterises the new 919 Hybrid' technology. The powertrain became even more efficient, the aerodynamics were even more specific for the various race tracks and the weight of single components was even more reduced. "The over 900 hp strong Le Mans Prototype is ready for the title defence," said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1.

Porsche will sacrifice profit growth to fund EV development

Porsche is so serious about developing electrified vehicles that it's willing to sacrifice big jumps in profits to fund the investment. After a massive upgrade to the Zuffenhausen plant, the company will build the Mission E EV (above) there in 2020. "Therefore it's clear that we can no longer carry out major leaps on results," the CEO Oliver Blume said about the automaker's financial growth, according to Reuters. Porsche will invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) through 2020 to make additional electrified vehicles possible. Around 700 million euros ($765 million) will go into the Zuffenhausen factory to build a new paint shop, assembly plant, and upgrade the engine factory to produce electric motors for hybrids and EVs. The expansion will also bring all Cayman and Boxster assembly under one roof. Outside of Zuffenhausen, the money will improve the research and development center in Weissach and update the sales and marketing department in Ludwigsburg. Blume said Porsche has "many new products in the pipeline," according to Reuters, and he wants as many of those as possible available with some level of electrification. In addition to the Mission E, there are rumors the company might build a 911 plug-in hybrid as soon as 2018. While Blume doesn't forecast big jumps in profits, Porsche should still remain financially successful in the coming years. The automaker doesn't report its 2015 earnings until March 11, but Reuters reports the company's global deliveries topped 200,000 vehicles for the first time ever last year, which could push its operating profit well above 2014's 2.72 billion euros ($3 billion at current rates). Related Video:

Porsche moving all Boxster/Cayman production to Zuffenhausen

The Porsche Boxster and Cayman have been built at a variety of locations over the years. But in its latest announcement, the German automaker has revealed its intentions to bring production of its entry-level models back home to Stuttgart. The decision was announced today as part of a major investment program being undertaken by Porsche. Porsche intends to spend over ˆ1.1 billion (equivalent to over $1.2 billion at current exchange rates) to expand several of its facilities. Those include the factory at Zuffenhausen, the sales and marketing department at Ludwigsburg, and the famed R&D facility at Weissach – all of which would undergo upgrades and renovations by 2020. The biggest component of the wide-ranging plans, however, would ostensibly be the expansion of the Zuffenhausen assembly line. While the Panamera, Cayenne, and Macan are handled largely at a second facility in Leipzig, the 911 is built at the company's historic home at Zuffenhausen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart. The Boxster and Cayman are built there as well, but excess capacity has been outsourced to other facilities: first by Valmet in Sweden, and then at the former Karmann plant in Osnabruck, Germany. That additional off-site production, however, will come to an end starting in August 2016, both for the current models and their replacements. In addition to the expansion of the assembly plant, the Zuffenhausen site will also get a new body shop and engine production facility. In the process, Porsche has also ruled out laying off any workers until 2020. The entire proposal was announced by the company's Executive Board and the General Works Council that represents its employees, but still needs to be approved by the Supervisory Board. Related Video: Executive Board and the General Works Council sign agreement to secure locations Porsche is getting fit for the future: Further flexibilisation, a high level of investments and safeguarding of jobs Stuttgart. The Executive Board and the General Works Council of the Porsche AG have adopted a pioneering package of measures for the long-term safeguarding of the company locations. Porsche is to invest more than a billion euros in the expansion of its factories. The objective of the new agreement with the title "Fit for the Future" is also to boost the productivity, flexibility and efficiency of the company while maintaining the social standards for the employees.