What's the news?
Porsche has released hitherto unseen images of the 2.0-litre V4 petrol engine that powered the Weissach team to a one-two finish at Le Mans in 2015. The Porsche 919 put in a dominant performance at Circuit de la Sarthe last June, along with victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Mechanicals
First impression is that the engine is tiny, but don't let that fool you. It is wedged full of the newest technologies that Porsche Motorsport's engineers can use in accordance with the regulations laid down for the World Endurance Championship by the FIA. The top LMP1 class in which the 919 runs requires that hybrid technology is utilised, but allows freedom in terms of combustion engine fuel and induction type (normally aspirated or forced), capacity and number of cylinders. Fuel consumption allowance is directly related to the amount of energy generated by the recovery systems fitted to the car, which include an exhaust energy recovery setup and lithium-ion batteries. Porsche's figures state that the powertrain produces around 900hp all in, with circa 500hp of that contributed by the turbocharged V4 petrol engine. This may sound a bit tame when you realise that turbocharged F1 engines from 1980s used to spit out up to 1,500hp in qualifying trim in the mid-1980s, but they lasted about five laps and could drain a supertanker while doing so.
Porsche's Le Mans engine has to run flat out for 24 hours while consuming minimal fuel. Audi, Toyota and all the rest were left with bloodied noses in the 2015 WEC, so it will be interesting to see what sort of improvements they can make this year to close the gap to the 919.
Anything else?
Porsche has long dined off the link between motorsport and road car development. The old adage of 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' may seem a bit clichéd, but 919 technical director Alexander Hitzinger stresses that road car engineers are closely involved in the design and development of these hybrid powertrains, so new discoveries and technologies proved out in racing can trickle down to mainstream production.
To that end, the flat-four turbo engine in the new Porsche 718 Boxster draws on elements from the racer's powerplant, including the direct injection system and cylinder spacing. However tenuous the link may be, motorsport certainly improves the breed. Purists may bemoan the switch from the Boxster's proven naturally aspirated flat-six formula, but the improvements in efficiency mean it was inevitable. With the Porsche 911 range also going turbocharged, these are interesting times for Stuttgart's road products