Porsche proves 919 Hybrid is faster than F1 car at Spa

Porsche has set a new lap record of Belgium's famed Spa Francorchamps race circuit in its Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid as part of its celebratory 'Tribute Tour'.

Taking just 1:41.770 minutes to lap the famous Belgium Grand Prix circuit, which is nestled in the Ardennes mountains, the 919 Hybrid's new lap record is all the more remarkable since it beat the previous record -- set by Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG W07 Hybrid F1 racer -- by 0.783 seconds.

During the Porsche lap, driven by Swiss Neel Jani, the 919 Hybrid topped out at an astonishing 359km/h and averaged a mind-numbing 246km/h over the 7km-long track.

To achieve its aim of setting the new lap record, the 919 Hybrid was heavily modified over the standard race car.

The biggest of these changes to the hybrid racer, which was renamed the 919 Evo for this exercise, was that its fuel restrictor was junked.

Porsche engineers claim this liberates as much as 20 per cent more power from the compact 2.0-litre turbocharged V4, raising its total output from 368kW to a far more muscular 530kW.

Next, the amount of energy that's allowed to be recovered was raised from the mandatory 6.37 megajoules to 8.49 megajoule. This change alone allows the front-mounted electric motor to deliver 10 per cent more power -- up from 294kW to 323kW.

With far more power and no limitations imposed on aero, the updated 919 got a larger rear diffuser, bigger rear wing and active aero that reduces drag on the straights.

Thanks to underbody tweaking and large side skirts, the result is a car that boasts 53 per cent more downforce than the FIA-approved 919 Hybrid in qualifying spec.

Finally, a new brake-by-wire spec was added, while the power steering and front and rear wishbones were beefed up.

Junking the air con, windscreen wiper, unnecessary electronics and on-board pneumatic air jacks cut the kerb weight of the 919 Evo to just 849kg -- 39kg less than the car that last raced in 2017.

Porsche is embarking on a world tour of the retired 919 LMP1 car following its withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship last year.

The 919 Evo will next be seen in action ahead of the Nurburgring 24 Hours in May. It's not known if another record attempt is planned there.