Wednesday 22nd June 2005

Porsche creeps towards Le Mans

LMP2 car completes tests at Weissach

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Porsche is creeping towards official participation in Le Mans-style racing. The development of a new prototype by Porsche for customer racing in the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) category of the 2006 American Le Mans Series has completed initial tests on Porsche R&D department's test track at Weissach.

This marks the beginning of the testing period for the new racing sportscar, which is 100 per cent Porsche-designed and constructed, from the carbon-fibre Kevlar body to the newly-developed engine, the chassis and powertrain through to the suspension.

The prototype is powered by a newly-developed 90-degree V8 endurance engine, fitted with ACO regulation air restrictors, delivering around 480bhp from a 3.4-litre capacity. The lightweight powerplant is said to feature a very low centre of gravity, four valves per cylinder, a dry-sump lubrication system and single cylinder throttle valves.

The six-speed sequential constant-mesh gearbox with a triple-disc carbon fibre racing clutch is a structural part of the chassis and is operated by a steering wheel-mounted paddle shift system. Like the Porsche Carrera GT, the new prototype’s monocoque chassis is constructed of carbon fibre. Attached to this extremely strong yet lightweight framework is a front and rear double-wishbone suspension, with adjustable springs, anti-roll bars and four-way shock absorbers.

Providing optimum braking power, the brake system includes twin master cylinders, adjustable brake balance and internally vented carbon brake discs measuring 380mm at the front and 355mm at the rear. As an integral partner in the car’s development process, Michelin supplies the race tyres for the new Porsche prototype.

In compliance with the 2006 ALMS regulations, the new Porsche LMP2 weighs only 750Kg. This minimal weight was achieved through an intelligent, highly integrated lightweight vehicle concept. As the prototype is eventually intended for customer racing, the development engineers had the task of reaching the minimal weight without the extensive use of exotic, and hence expensive, lightweight materials.

Penske Motorsports, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penske Racing, will field the new prototype in its first full season of competition exclusively in 2006. Prior to entering the entire 2006 ALMS season, the team said it would debut the car at the final two races of the 2005 ALMS season as test events. These will be the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Georgia, on 1 October, and the season finale at Laguna Seca, California, on 16 October.

[beast]

It's not as pretty as a Lola

[johnfh]

Could this be the engine that William will need after BMW departs?
John

[The Undertaker]

About bloody time........
just shows what you can do with a 10k profit margin per vehicle
Booking next years Le Mans now

[ahonen]

johnfh said:

Could this be the engine that William will need after BMW departs? John

No, not at all. It's a sportscar engine.

Afternoon Mr East, by the way. Were there any celebrations on Sunday or just a night with the living dead? I nearly made it home before my eyes stopped working...

[dinkel]

Ah, nice lump: detuned and hop it in the new 928

But serious, Porsche needs to be in this league. Otherwise we'll think the 917-series was a one off . . .

[markbrai888]

Funny, you should mention about the Porsche LMP2 engine being used in an F1 car. There is an article in the latest racecar engineering on this exact topic. At the moment, the 3.0 V10 in current F1 cars isnt allowed for sportscar use, but the 2.4 V8 as being used from next year will be. Also, because of the two race rule, the engine actually has a long enough life to be able to contest a short race. But, witht he alledged rule coming in of a 6 race engine life, then the mileage on each engine would be fine for all but the actual Le Mans races. So in theory, an F1 engine COULD find its way into a sportscar. The other upised, is that a sportscar engine could find its way into an F1 car. What better way to market yourself and also cut costs than by developing one engine for both sportscar and F1 use.

So...we could indeed see a Porsche F1 engine at some poitn in the future!

[willr]

Or how about this new V8 in the 998 - to replace the GT1-derived engine...

[lvarga]

can this one be raced in Britcar?

[Pat Cash]

lvarga said:

can this one be raced in Britcar?

If you're planning on it, can I help??!!! Please!!!