California 1974 Porsche 911 Sunroof Coupe {49 Photos} on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid sharpens up to defend its titles

Porsche made a clean sweep of LMP1 racing last season, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship for both drivers and manufacturers. And now that it's back on top of the podium, it's not about to step down again without putting up a fight. To that end, witness the newly revised 919 Hybrid. Revealed ahead of the season's start with the Prologue event at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, the 2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid is an evolution of the version that debuted in 2014 and trounced the competition in 2015. But Audi and Toyota – with their similarly revised R18 and TS050 – will be at least as hungry this year to dethrone Porsche as Porsche will be to retain its titles, so the racing engineers in Weissach have made made a number of revisions. The chassis and basic engine architecture, of course, are the same, with a two-liter turbocharged V4 assisted by a brake energy recovery system at the front and exhaust energy recuperation at the back. But the engine now uses less fuel, so it can run longer between pit stops – a vital element of the strategy when racing for hours on end. The aerodynamics were made more adjustable so that the team can switch between three packages depending on the type of track they're running. While they were at it, those notoriously exacting German engineers managed to cut some excess weight out as well. And instead of the three different color liveries like last year, this season the 919 Hybrid will run under a common livery of black, white, and red – which hopefully won't get mixed up with those of its rivals from Audi and Toyota. We guess we'll all find out when the season kicks off in earnest at Silverstone in mid-April. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, LMP1 Ready for title defence: the new Porsche 919 Hybrid Stuttgart. World debut of the new 919 Hybrid: Two days before the official Prologue for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Paul Ricard, France, Porsche is presenting its race car for this season. Strong development characterises the new 919 Hybrid' technology. The powertrain became even more efficient, the aerodynamics were even more specific for the various race tracks and the weight of single components was even more reduced. "The over 900 hp strong Le Mans Prototype is ready for the title defence," said Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1.

Porsche offers design walkthrough of Panamera Sport Turismo

The Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo was arguably the best concept car of 2012, and Porsche has been building upon that momentum by teasing us with videos of its first-ever station wagon design. After showing us some driving shots of the Sport Turismo, Porsche released a more in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at what it took to take the Panamera shooting brake from a full-scale clay model to the final product we saw on stage at the Paris Motor Show. In the video, Michael Mauer, Porsche style director, and Mitja Borkert, general manager advanced design style, both give a little insight about what went into creating the Sport Turismo Concept.
More than just a station wagon version of the Panamera, the Sport Turismo has a totally distinctive look nose to tail. Some of the key elements the designers touch on in the video include the Porsche-signature raised front fenders, the wide rear shoulders, the front wing inspired by the 918 Spyder, and even some of the car's unique touches, including the headlights and the three-dimensional "Porsche" lettering across the liftgate made from glass. One of the more exciting aspects of the concept - which is sadly just glossed over in the video - is the rear liftgate spoiler that features "variable aerodynamics" that sounds like it acts similar to the retractable spoiler on the current Panamera.
We still don't know if the Panamera Sport Turismo will make it into production, but if you want to see what went into creating this exciting concept car and see the different build phases designers went through to create the Paris show car, check out the video by scrolling below.

Porsche releases new images of LMP1 racecar

Porsche has released another batch of images of its LMP1 competitor preparing for its debut season in 2014. This isn't the first we've seen of the new car, as June saw four images of the new racer undergoing testing. Where those images looked merely like someone taking pics during the test, the 11 new images seen above have all the hallmarks of highly polished PR shots.
That aside, the camo-covered cars still provide another look at what the new LMP1 car will look like when it arrives next season. The taillights follow the example set by Audi, by vertically mounting ultra-thin LEDs on the tips of the rear wing, while the LED headlights sport the four-prong look that Porsche has been pushing of late. Besides those two items, its difficult to make out many details due to the amount of camo.
Porsche's LMP1 effort will be focused on the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will see the revered brand return to the top flights of the 24 Hours Of Le Mans with F1 ace Mark Webber behind the wheel. As we've mentioned before, the German brand has set up a dedicated microsite that will cover its newest racer's progress.