Porsche reveals Le Mans contender

Porsche has unveiled its all-new LMP1 prototype – the racecar with which it will attempt to win its first outright victory at Le Mans in 16 years.

Revealed a little over a week ahead of this year’s Le Mans 24-hour endurance classic (June 22-23), the Porsche LMP1 car will contest the 2014 World Endurance Championship in the hands of works drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.

Porsche's contender for next year’s Le Mans race and the 2014 WEC completed its first shakedown at the German brand’s Weissach test track this week, under the watchful eye of Porsche AG board members.

Porsche Chairman Matthias Müller said the LMP1 car emphasises the benefits customers will enjoy from the development of the high-tech racer.

“The engineers were able to start with a blank sheet of paper in the design of the new LMP1 car,” he said.

“Hence, they were able to apply many new technologies within the framework of the regulations that will also benefit the customers of our road cars in the future. After all, there’s a racecar in every Porsche.”

Bernhard (32) and Dumas (35), who will carry out the majority of testing on various international circuits this year, are the first two drivers to be appointed since Porsche announced its LMP1 project in mid-2011.

“I was involved in the development of the new car right from the outset,” said Bernhard after taking his new set of wheels through its initial function check.

“I’m very proud that I was the one to take our baby through its first paces today. Already now the car feels great. I look forward to testing the vehicle in the coming weeks and months with my friend and colleague Romain Dumas.”

Australian F1 ace Mark Webber could also be part of the Porsche factory team if he parts ways with the Red Bull Racing team next year, but neither party has commented on the recent media speculation.

Head of Porsche’s LMP1 effort, Fritz Enzinger, said the car completed its first laps on the circuit several weeks earlier than originally planned.

“We are well on schedule,” he said. “Our newly formed team has worked with utmost concentration on getting this highly complex vehicle on the track as soon as possible. This allows us a few additional weeks for more testing and further development.

“From 2014, the regulations are primarily based on efficiency. This makes the competition amongst engineers more interesting and presents us with completely new challenges.”

In the 12 months since Porsche committed to top-level sports car racing, Porsche’s Motorsport Centre at Weissach has grown to include a workshop and administration building, accommodating around 200 employees responsible for the design, assembly and deployment of the LMP1 car.

“During the development of our new LMP1 vehicle, we faced the same challenge as in the series production development of our road cars,” said Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz.

“Our aim was to achieve the best possible efficiency without compromising performance.”

Porsche is yet to reveal the powertrain details of its Le Mans racer, apart from admitting it will be powered by a petrol-electric drive system designed specifically to meet next year's more energy-efficient regulations.

Porsche is the most successful brand in Le Mans history with 16 around-the-clock victories, although Volkswagen Group sister brand Audi is the marque to beat, having won the first two rounds of this year’s WEC.

Audi will front up at Le Mans next weekend looking for its fourth straight victory and its 12th from 14 attempts since 1999, with its diesel-electric R18 e-tron racer.

However, its three factory entries will face strong competition from a host of formidable works teams, including Toyota and its 2013-spec TS030 Hybrid Le Mans prototype.

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