Porsche announced today their plan to return to Le Mans with works-run LMP1 prototype. The newly developed race cars first outing is planned for the year 2014.
“Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand,” emphasizes Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. “So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivalled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.”
According to Müller, this will be a completely new race car, developed from the ground up at Weissach, and utilize the latest technology that includes the integration of various hybrid technologies. Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, is prepared for one of the most challenging development programmes in the company’s history. “We will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car. These obviously depend on how the regulations for the year 2014 look in detail. In principle, these regulations are interesting for us because the integration of our hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”
With 16 overall victories, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in Le Mans. The most recent win was in 1998 with the Porsche 911 GT1.