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Porsche updates 919 Hybrid racer for 2015 season

Porsche's grand return to the elite level of global endurance racing showed mixed success in its first year. The company did score one victory in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season during the race in Brazil but finished in third place overall among the three factory manufacturers. Porsche is hoping for a few more wins in 2015 and is releasing its first shots of the updated car to achieve those triumphs when things kick off in April. The team's racer is still called the 919 Hybrid, but Porsche promises this second-generation version is a "comprehensive evolution" compared to last year. The most obvious change is the redesigned front end where the styling now features a simple horizontal intake running across the front (compare to 2014, below). The nose area also now flares out to the windshield. The side grows a more complicated look, though, with a series of fins just behind the driver compartment. Porsche isn't divulging many details about anything different under the skin. The 2015 919 is still propelled by a 2.0-liter turbocharged V4, and an electric motor powers the front wheels. There are also two energy recovery systems. In addition to the previous challengers from Audi and Toyota, Porsche has one more competitor in the factory ranks this season. The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo is rumored to be a radical departure from the rest of the field with an engine possibly located in front of the driver. Read the German brand's very brief release about the updated 919 Hybrid below and click through the gallery to see how it looks. Track debut for 2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid Stuttgart. Extensive testing with the second generation of Porsche's Le Mans prototype will begin on January 18, on Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit. As scheduled, this marks the start of the 2015 motorsport season for the Porsche Team. The new Porsche 919 Hybrid has already had its roll-out on the Weissach test track. As a next step, there will be several performance and endurance tests before the WEC season opener on April 12 in Silverstone, Great Britain. The new Porsche 919 Hybrid is a comprehensive evolution of the successful car that made its debut in 2014. It will feature the same innovative drivetrain concept consisting of a 2-litre V4 turbocharged petrol engine, an electric motor powering the front wheels, and two energy recovery systems. The new generation car had its first roll-out on December 15, 2014.

'Faster. Farther.' dives into the history of Porsche racing tech

No doubt, Porsche has produced some of the best endurance racecars around, such as the turbocharged, slant-nose 935 of the 1970s and the ground-effects-enhanced 956 and 962 of the 1980s. But the company's most famous racecar, its first overall winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, was the 917.
The 917 embodied many of Porsche's technological achievements up to that point, such as the company's first 12- and 16-cylinder engines (the flat-16 was never used in competition), fiberglass bodies that implemented early aerodynamic practices and the use of new, exotic materials, such as magnesium and titanium.
The racecar was commissioned by the head of Porsche Motorsports, Ferdinand Piëch, to win overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970, after he realized a loophole in the rules that allowed cars to compete with engines up to five liters in the Sport category if they were also production models. Piëch saw opportunity: the top prototype class was restricted to three liters; the production minimum to compete in Sport was 25 cars. And so, with much effort, Porsche assembled 25 "production" 4.5-liter 917s and had them parked in a neat line for the race inspectors to verify their legitimacy. It didn't take long before people realized the new Porsches were much faster than the prototype racers, with a top speed approaching 250 miles per hour.

Meet Buster, this 1968 Porsche racecar transporter from Mercedes

If you're thinking about Porsche and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to motorsports, your first thought is probably on the two German brands battling on the track. However, for decades, whenever Porsche's factory team went to compete, a custom Mercedes was right along with them hauling the racecars. These days the truck lives in the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, FL, and goes by the nickname Buster. However, its story goes back to 1968 when Porsche ordered two commercial vehicles from Mercedes and then handed them over to a Stuttgart-based outfitter for customization. The results were these racing transporters that hauled models like the 917 and 956 until the '80s. The other survived, too, with a place in Porsche's collection. Well-known racers in their own right, Brumos scooped up the transporter in 2003 and have kept driving it to vintage racing events. The interior now boasts the signatures of many of the great drivers from the era of this historic truck. Watch the video for the whole story on the Mercedes with a whole lot of Porsche inside.