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Porsche updates 919 Hybrid LMP1 for 2015 assault [w/video]

Last season, Porsche returned to the top level of endurance racing with the 919 Hybrid, picking up a mantle that has seen the German marque win the 24 Hours of Le Mans a record sixteen times – more than any other manufacturer ever to compete at the legendary French race. Of course, Porsche didn't beat its sister company Audi right out of the box, but managed to win the last race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in Brazil before the season was done. This year it undoubtedly hopes to do even better, and this is the machine with which it will endeavor to take the top honors. Newly revised and optimized for the 2015 season, the new 919 Hybrid was just revealed on the eve of the first test session of the season at the Paul Ricard test track in the South of France. It may look largely the same as the model it succeeds, but benefits from numerous advancements made to help Porsche catch up with Audi and Toyota. For starters, Zuffenhausen has opted to step up to the eight-megajoule category, favoring the electric side of its hybrid powertrain over the internal combustion engine. So the compact 2.0-liter turbocharged V4 now drives in excess of 500 horsepower to the rear wheels, and the electric motor – powered by two energy recovery systems and a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery – kicks in upwards of 400 hp to the front wheels. The rest of the package has been comprehensively updated as well, giving it a lower weight, improved rigidity, revised suspension and reshaped aerodynamic elements. Porsche will field two cars at most of the races this season, but will increase its team to three cars for certain races – one in black, one in white and one in red. Following the "prologue" test session at Paul Ricard this weekend, the season kicks off with the 6 Hours of Silverstone on April 12, when the new Porsche 919 Hybrid will take on the similarly revised Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro and Toyota TS040 Hybrid for the first time in earnest. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) LMP1 presentation 2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid – proven base was extensively optimised Suttgart. At the Paul Ricard Circuit in France today, Porsche presented the second generation of its Le Mans Prototype 919 Hybrid race car as a technical evolution in a three-colour concept. Porsche also confirmed it will switch to the highest of the four energy categories in the LMP1 class.

Porsche 911 already testing next refresh

The latest Porsche 911 may still be a newer car, but that hasn't stopped the German company from starting development of a facelifted version of the rear-engined sports car, testing in what looks like southern Europe.
Due to hit the market in 2015, our spies think what we're seeing here is the new GTS variant, which, following the evolution of the last-generation 911, will make its debut on the facelifted car. Featuring the wider rear haunches of the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4, the GTS should enjoy a slight power boost, to 408 ponies.
Aesthetically, there are some additional vents in the rear bodywork, along with a revised front bumper and tweaked day-time running lights. The taillights get some attention as well, and will likely grow over the current car's skinny rear lamps.

Are you the 2017 Porsche 911 GTS Targa?

Our spy shooters have caught a strange, mash-up beast wearing a Porsche badge. Superficially, this is a facelift for the 911 Targa that features new bumpers, door handles and a redesigned engine cover, along with new light graphics for the front and rear lights. But have a look around back, and you'll find two inboard exhaust pipes; they aren't right up against each other as on the 911 GT3, but are spaced about five inches apart. The shooters said the first time they saw that arrangement was last winter, on a convertible during testing. We saw it again more recently in spy shots of what was thought to be the 911 GTS coupe prototype at the track. But when the production GTS arrived, it wore the traditional quad-pipe at the corners. The theory put forward by the spy photog: the current GTS has a naturally aspirated engine, but facelifted prototypes they've been seeing all have turbo engines, so this could be the facelifted Targa coming in 2017, after the 991-model 911 gets a refresh. In that case, the GTS coupe prototype at the track would have also been a post-refresh, turbo-engined GTS. It's only a hypothesis, but more than one outlet has reported that Porsche is going all-turbo for the updated 2015 models – the new exhaust position and those 911-Turbo-like vents could be their identifiers. We expect to find out when the lineup is unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, possibly codenamed 992 instead of 991.2.