Porsche 919 Hybrid – Technological Advantage

Silverstone 6 Hours, 20 April 2014: The Porsche 919 Hybrid team, drivers and management pose for a family snap before the race

In 2014, Porsche marched back into the top class of endurance racing, and announced that they were here to take the championship. Their new racer, the Porsche 919 Hybrid, was powered by a 2.0-litre V4 petrol turbocharged engine, and they proudly claimed that it held a technological advantage over the rest of their competitors. Many were sceptical, however, because not only was the Porsche power package untried, but this engine layout was not a format used in any other form of motor sport.

Geneva Motor Show, March 2014: Launch of the Porsche 919 H (LMP1) and 991 RSR (GTE PRO) for the 2014 season

Geneva Motor Show, March 2014: Works driver Timo Bernhard on the Porsche stand on the occasion of the launch of the Porsche 919 H (LMP1)

The Porsche 919 Hybrid was first revealed to the public at the Geneva Motor Show on 4 March 2014. However, the 919 first turned a wheel in a semi-competitive environment at the WEC Prologue at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France on 29 March 2014, but here it was only the media who got to see it.