Following an early preview from Abu Dhabi, the new 2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car now makes its formal debut in all its official liveries and with all the team members and drivers present. The second generation Porsche hybrid race car is the best yet, but it is facing some tough competition, mainly from its sister company Audi and its awesome new R18 e-tron.
But Porsche has come to the battlefield prepared and armed to the teeth. The new Porsche 919 Hybrid boasts the highest of the four energy categories in the LMP1 class, the 8-megajoule category, with the performance of the energy recovery system was able to be increased by around one-third. The 400-hp hybrid system works in tandem with a 2-litre V4 turbocharged petrol engine with over 500-hp, making the 919 a formidable weapon on the race track.
As always, the liveries used on these new Porsche 919 Hybrid racers have a rich story behind them. Porsche will field three 919s this year in red, black, and white. The red one pays tribute to the Porsche 917 KH (“short-tail”) in “Salzburg Design” that won Le Mans 45 years go, and it’s the one with Mark Webber on the driving team. The Black 919 meanwhile is a symbol of the close technical kinship between the Porsche 919 Hybrid racing car and the Porsche 918 Spyder. And as for the white 919, it’s just the firm’s favorite racing color, appropriate for its return to LMP1 after a 16 years.