Porsche celebrates world premiere of 919 Hybrid and 911 RSR at Geneva

At the Geneva International Motor Show, the new Porsche 919 Hybrid is celebrating its world premiere for the top category of the 2014 World Endurance Championships (WEC). The innovative hybrid prototype will be joined by the Porsche 911 RSR at the Porsche exhibition
area in Geneva as well as at all eight races of the WEC series, whose season highlight will certainly be the 24 hours of Le Mans. Porsche will also be showing the Macan S Diesel to the public for the first time in Geneva.

"Crucial in the development of the Le Mans prototype were the newly created and revolutionary racing rules for this class as they relate to energy efficiency. In 2014, it will not be the fastest car that wins the World Endurance Championship series and the 24 hours of Le Mans, rather it will be the car that goes the furthest with a defined amount of energy. And it is precisely this challenge that carmakers must overcome. The 919 Hybrid is our fastest mobile research laboratory and the most complex race car that Porsche has ever built," said Matthias Muller, Chairman of Porsche AG.

The exceptional efficiency of the Porsche 919 Hybrid is the result of a carefully balanced overall concept. The sum of all of its individual components forms an effective unit: from the combustion engine to the energy recovery systems, chassis and running gear, aerodynamics and driver ergonomics. The combustion engine is a compact V four-cylinder petrol engine that also serves as a load-bearing member in the chassis. It is a frontrunner of the future-oriented downsizing philosophy features two litres of engine displacement, direct fuel injection and mono-turbocharging, the engine that turns at speeds up to 9,000 rpm. The compact engine outputs around 500 hp.

In addition, the Le Mans prototype has two energy recovery systems. Fundamentally new here is a system that recovers thermal energy from exhaust gases via an electric generator driven by the exhaust gas stream. The second hybrid system has the functionality familiar from the 918 Spyder. Here, a generator on the front axle utilises braking phases to convert kinetic energy into electric energy. Lithium-ion batteries serve as the energy storage medium. When the driver needs this energy, an electric motor drives the front axle. This makes the 919 Hybrid an all-wheel drive vehicle temporarily.

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