Porsche’s challenger for this year’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans 24 hours racer has been unveiled on the web prior the car’s official debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
The 919 is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre V4 engine, but assisted by a KERS unit and exhaust heat energy recovery systems, energy stored by the 919 can then be used to power an electric motor which drives the front wheels. Porsche’s other cousin from the Volkswagen group, Audi, will be using V6 TDI diesel engine while rival Toyota will still use the V8 NA engine.
Porsche will field two cars with three drivers each, with car no #14 driven by Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, while Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard will drive the #20 car. This year will see former F1 driver, Mark Webber on his first year in top-flight endurance racing with Porsche. The 2014’s Le Mans 24 Hours race will see a three-way battle for glory in the premier LMP1 category between defending champions Audi, Toyota and newcomer Porsche.
[Source: Autocar]
