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Remembering Porsche's illustrious Le Mans history

Not only does this weekend mark the running of the 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans, it will also see the return of one of the race's most venerable brands to the top tiers of endurance racing. Porsche will campaign its first top-flight car since the 1998 911 GT1-98, the 919 Hybrid, at this weekend's race, in the hopes of knocking off its corporate rival, the dominant Audi team.
To understand just what a win for the 919 would mean, though, you need to look back on the intrinsic connection between the Circuit de la Sarthe and Porsche. It's a history that spans decades, dating back to the team's first win in 1970.
XCar has a great video on that history. At 25 minutes, it's a bit on the long side. Then again it is the Friday before Le Mans. Take a look below for the video.

Porsche 919 Hybrid revives Porsche's factory Le Mans efforts

After months of teasing with camouflaged testers, Porsche has finally unveiled its prototype entry for the 2014 World Endurance Championship, the 919 Hybrid. Porsche, you may recall, hasn't had campaigned a factory team at Le Mans in years, so the 919 is nothing less than their recommitment to endurance racing.
Combining a 2.0-liter V4 (yes, a V4) that revs to 9,000 rpm, the 919 produces around 500 horsepower with a pair of energy recovery systems. The first system recovers the heat energy from exhaust gasses as they pass through an electrical generator, while the second system is a bit more familiar. Using a setup similar to what is found on the production 918 Spyder, a generator on the front axle recovers kinetic energy from the brakes, which is subsequently stored in a battery system. That power can then be sent to the front wheels at the driver's command, effectively turning the 919 into an all-wheel-drive racecar.
Despite these various forms of motivation, Porsche doesn't claim to be seeking outright power supremacy, with Chairman Matthias Müller saying, "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."

Porsche patent sketches show removable headrest wind deflector

While driving around in a convertible might seem glamorous, ask anyone with long hair and they'll likely tell you how it really is: the wind buffets, your hair goes everywhere and it's anything but glamorous. That's why you see so many convertibles driving with their tops up, their windows up or wind deflectors in place. But Porsche is apparently preparing to kick it up to the next level.
These patent drawings have leaked out, demonstrating what appears to be some new kind of wind-deflecting device being developed by Porsche. The mechanism is apparently fitted to the headrest itself and designed to keep the wind buffeting specifically around the head down to a minimum while allowing the car's occupants to enjoy the top-down driving experience.
No word on when it might hit the market, but we won't be surprised to see this kind of device appear on a future version of the Boxster or 911 Cabriolet. But nowhere else: despite the apparent leak, the patent drawings suggest that Porsche will be keeping this technology proprietary. Whether sister brands like Volkswagen, Bentley or Lamborghini will get their hands on it remains to be seen.