Skip advert
Advertisement

Porsche 919 racing V4 detailed in intricate new images

Jewel-like images give us a glimpse at the engine that powered Porsche to victory in last year's World Endurance Championship

It’s as if Porsche has sensed the slight air of disappointment around its latest road cars. Perhaps not, but it’s a little too convenient that just as grumblings about turbocharged Carreras and four-cylinder Boxsters arise, the company chooses to remind us just what its engineers are capable of.

And so for the first time, Porsche has revealed images of the tiny, jewel-like engine that resides behind the rear bulkhead of its 919 Hybrid LMP1 car and utilises both forced induction and down-sizing.

Advertisement - Article continues below

That this engine - a 2-litre turbocharged V4 - has won in the top class of endurance racing is some achievement. That it has done so when the 919 Hybrid’s closest rivals have rolled out the heavy artillery in the form of a 4-litre V6 turbodiesel (Audi) and a 3.7-litre V8 (Toyota) is even more impressive.

In fact last season Porsche collected the WEC drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles, securing a one-two finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours along the way. So this is a hugely successful engine, and the message from Porsche to everybody who loves sports cars is clear: stop worrying about the future, and buy our cars.

The engine, polished here to within an inch of its life, is part of a powertrain that features an exhaust energy recovery system and lithium-ion batteries that power an electric motor on the front axle. Alexander Hitzinger, the technical director responsible for the 919 Hybrid, describes it as a brave concept that is now paying off. That must be a pneumatic drill to the ears of Ralf Jüttner, his counterpart at Audi.

With such sophisticated technology, the link that Porsche so energetically attempts to draw between the 919 Hybrid’s powerplant and that of the 718 Boxster may seem tenuous (one is arranged in a vee while the other is horizontally opposed, for a start), but there are some parallels that stem from the fact that Hitzinger’s team work closely with engineers for the production cars. These parallels are said to concern ‘combustion development’ and ‘fuel-mixture generation’, but beyond these we’re left to draw our own conclusions.

In preparation for the 2016 WEC season, tightened restrictions on the amount of fuel the teams can burn has meant that the V4’s output has officially dropped from ‘more than’ 500bhp to ‘less than’ 500bhp. The full petrol-electric powertrain is still good for around 900bhp, however, so the 919 Hybrid should still be quick enough to put the wind up an F1 car.

The season-opener is the Silverstone 6 Hours on April 17. Other dates to put in your diary are for the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (May 7), the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 18), the Nürburgring 6 Hours (July 24), and the Mexico City 6 Hours (September 3), which will be the first time the WEC has visited the Central American country.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Here’s the Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH in its final Le Mans-ready form
Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH
News

Here’s the Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH in its final Le Mans-ready form

Two Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH racers will compete at Le Mans and all WEC rounds in 2025, and their final design has now been unveiled
5 Feb 2025
How to win the Le Mans 24 Hours: we consult 2024’s winners
Le Mans 24 Hours 2024
Features

How to win the Le Mans 24 Hours: we consult 2024’s winners

evo sits down with veterans of the Le Mans 24 Hours and winners of the 2024 race, and asks them what it takes to win racing’s ultimate prize
17 Jun 2024
Le Mans 24 Hours 2024: Ferrari triumphs (again) with the 499P
Le Mans 24 Hours 2024
News

Le Mans 24 Hours 2024: Ferrari triumphs (again) with the 499P

The 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours was a thriller, with a record-breaking number of Hypercars, changeable weather and the new LMGT3 class making its debut
16 Jun 2024
It's confirmed: the Aston Martin Valkyrie is racing at Le Mans in 2025
Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH
News

It's confirmed: the Aston Martin Valkyrie is racing at Le Mans in 2025

Two Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH racers will compete at Le Mans and all WEC rounds in 2025
14 Jun 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Honda Civic Type R (FN2) – the car world's greatest misses
Honda Civic Type R FN2
Features

Honda Civic Type R (FN2) – the car world's greatest misses

Its lineage contains some hot hatch greats, but the late-noughties Civic wasn’t one of them
26 Mar 2025
Used Audi RS6 Avant (C7, 2013 - 2019) review, specs and buying guide – family-friendly supercar slayer from £20k
Audi RS6 – front
In-depth reviews

Used Audi RS6 Avant (C7, 2013 - 2019) review, specs and buying guide – family-friendly supercar slayer from £20k

Audi’s C7-generation RS6 may lack ultimate involvement, but it’s still a crushingly effective and desirable super-estate
27 Mar 2025
Performance Link Mazda MX-5 R300 review – an MX-5 with Honda VTEC power
Performance Link Mazda MX-5 R300 – front
Reviews

Performance Link Mazda MX-5 R300 review – an MX-5 with Honda VTEC power

A screaming 296bhp Honda VTEC engine and a full chassis upgrade package turn the NC-generation Mazda MX-5 into something altogether more thrilling
25 Mar 2025