In what is a stunning feat, Porsche Motorsport has lapped its 919 Le Mans race car around the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps circuit faster than a Formula One car – thanks to a few modifications.
After the German firm withdrew from the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of last season, the team decided to give its all-conquering 919 car a swansong by getting it to lap some of the world’s most famous race tracks and set new records.
Without the restrictions of technical regulations, Porsche has been able to unleash the true potential of the 919 and has added some extra kit to make it even faster.
Now called the 919 Hybrid Evo, it is fitted with new pieces of bodywork to improve airflow, a drag reduction system – like the ones found on the rear wings of modern Formula One cars – and custom engine mapping to allow the 2.0-litre V4 engine’s output to go up from 493bhp to 710bhp.
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With that engine paired to an electrical setup – which produced an extra 433bhp on the record lap – that gives the 919 Hybrid Evo 1,143bhp, which is about 100bhp more than current F1 cars are estimated to produce.
Swiss driver Neel Jani was at the wheel of the car, and was able to beat the lap time set by Lewis Hamilton during the qualifying for the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix by 0.783 seconds with a time of 1:41.770.
Following his record-breaking lap, Jani said: “The 919 Evo is brutally impressive. It is definitely the fastest car I have ever driven. We are not only faster than the F1 pole from 2017, today’s lap was twelve seconds faster compared to our WEC pole position from last year!
“The race engineers did a great job setting up the car and the Michelin tyres are sensational. A big thank you to Porsche for this experience.”
Vice president of Porsche Motorsport LMP1 project Fritz Enzinger added: This was an absolutely fantastic lap – an outstanding driver’s performance from Neel and the result of great engineering.
“Today’s track record impressively proves the ultimate performance of the most innovative race car of its time. Our target was to show what the Porsche 919 Hybrid is able to do when we loosen the restrictions that normally come from the regulations.”
Spa-Francorchamps is considered one of the best circuits on the F1 calendar, and the 7.004km track is one of the most formidable in the world.
Rather than racing in WEC, Porsche Motorsport will now be focusing its resources on the all-electric Formula E World Championship from the start of Season Five, which will start in November – with the FIA confirming the team’s position yesterday.
