Tuesday 10th April 2018

Porsche 919 Evo quicker than F1 at Spa

Porsche may have officially ended its LMP1 campaign, but it's not done just yet...

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This year's Le Mans will be a very different race to previous 24-hour epics, with Toyota the only team to field a factory LMP1 effort. The departure of Porsche - after a record 18 wins don't forget - will create a significantly altered atmosphere in 2018.

That being said, Porsche isn't quite done with its triumphant 919 just yet. As part of the #919tribute tour taking place this year, Porsche has created the 919 Hybrid Evo. And we all know cars with Evo tacked on their name are better. With more power - a lot more power in fact, 720hp from the petrol engine and 440hp from the batteries - and even more aggressive aero, the Evo is 12 seconds a lap quicker around Spa than an ordinary 919. It also makes it quicker than a 2017 F1 car, the 1:41.770 set by Neel Jani more than seven tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton's 1:42.553 pole lap from last year's Belgian GP. Jani averaged 153mph and hit a 223mph maximum.

The modifications didn't stop with power, either. The Evo is 39kg lighter than a 919 at 849kg, achieved through deletion of the air-con, wipers, lights and pneumatic jack system. Imagine how expensive getting rid of all that might be on a Porsche road car... Along with stronger suspension wishbones, 53 per cent more downforce thanks to new skirts, spoilers and wings, plus a brand new compound of Michelin tyre, the 919 Evo has been described as an "engineer's dream" by Porsches LMP1 Chief Race Engineer Stephen Mitas.

As yet Porsche hasn't issued a video of the lap, instead using the opportunity to celebrate the regular 919's successes with vids like this one. Fortunately a few folk with cameras did see it, and that's the video we have here.

It's genuinely staggering to watch, simply because it's a reasonably familiar silhouette cornering like an F1 car. Of course a 919 was always fast, but this is on another level entirely, Jani saying "The 919 Evo is brutally impressive. It is definitely the fastest car I ever drove. The grip level is at a fully new dimension for me, I couldn't imagine this amount beforehand." While it's a shame that something so incredible will never get to race, Porsche does have big plans for the car, with rumours that a shot at Stefan Bellof's own Porsche record are in its sights. Could the 35 year-old 6:11.13 Nordschleife lap record be about to fall?

 

[DanG355]

Very impressive as there is no need for Porsche to do this but still they do...

I am a Porsche fan boy, but hope the Bellof record remains unbroken as it is a real legacy and was set in the best era of Sportscar racing. I guess records are there to be broken and not many have stood for as long as the Bellof lap. Also his would remain the record for a car within the racing rules!

[Krikkit]

DanG355 said:

Very impressive as there is no need for Porsche to do this but still they do...

I am a Porsche fan boy, but hope the Bellof record remains unbroken as it is a real legacy and was set in the best era of Sportscar racing. I guess records are there to be broken and not many have stood for as long as the Bellof lap. Also his would remain the record for a car within the racing rules!

Sorry but I don't think it is.

Take away the restrictions of homologation and I'm sure quite a few cars, all the F1 grid included, would be able to set significantly faster times. 53% more downforce and a removal of the energy limits from the powertrain and it's no wonder it's significantly faster.

I'd rather see them at la Sarthe again.

[DanG355]

They have nothing to prove but still Porsche do it - that's why it's impressive. I'd happily see other manufacturers build quasi-racers take on Porsche and get a faster lap here.

I agree, a lot of modern racing cars could be adapted to be faster and even have a crack at the outright Nurburgring record, but nobody else has and even Porsche might not fancy that one despite the road car record falling countless times.

Shows what a difficult challenge it is and what a truly special lap the Bellof one is.

Edited by DanG355 on Tuesday 10th April 11:36

[RacerMike]

It's a stunning thing for them to do. Nice to see someone actually having the balls to build something like these imaginary GT Vision Concepts that always look so cool, but never escape the digital domain. I truly hope they do go for the 'Ring record.

A mind boggling piece of info shared by Neel Jarni was that the minimum corner speed through Eau Rouge was 191mph! That's just insane!

[bobo79]

This would absolutely, completely and utterly murder Bellof's lap time. Improvements in tyres alone would see to that. GT3 cars are only around 20 seconds per lap slower around the track and this is colossally quicker than those.

It won't be straight forward setting it up to run at Nordschleife, though. The karussell in particular would require much higher ride height than typical.The thing would be finding a driver willing to drive something like this there. As such I bet it's just a demo lap since I'm not sure anyone has balls big enough...

More likely would be Goodwood, since Loeb tried it in his insane Citroen (with some LMP parts) a couple of years ago. This would have a real chance of beating Heidfeld's record there. It's all about wether they feel it's worth the risk. I imagine Laguna Seca will be conquered, Brands probably (I'm assuming it will be the Indy track).

Would love to see it round Le Mans, though.

[RacerMike]

bobo79 said:

It won't be straight forward setting it up to run at Nordschleife, though. The karussell in particular would require much higher ride height than typical.The thing would be finding a driver willing to drive something like this there. As such I bet it's just a demo lap since I'm not sure anyone has balls big enough...

I suspect like the NEXTEV thing and Heidfelds demo lap or the 'Ring they'd run round the outside edge of the Karussell rather than dipping into the concrete trench.

I really hope they do go for it. Hell, I'll give it a go if they don't want to :P

[PSH]

Porsche know how to build a fast car, they always have done, others try to follow....well done Porsche...

[Fetthobler]

I appreciate the effort and that they haven't fired most of their LMP1 engineers like Audi did. At least they can have some fun!!!

I would love to see this beast also shaking up Loeb's pikes Peak record!


As of Bellofs record, it is rumored that AMG wants to beat it with their Project One on slicks. The improvements in tires, suspension and traction management + especially modern race cars are easier to predict and handle on the limit will add up to this 'realistic' target.

A modern GT3 car is not far away from Bellofs record, considering the Porsche GT2 lap of 06:47. Taking a GT3 car, removing the restrictor and putting it on special tire compound will beat Bellofs record. Unfortunately no one has tried it yet.

This 919 EVO will just shatter it, if they find a driver who is brave enough to drive this attempt.

Edited by Fetthobler on Tuesday 10th April 12:34

[5harp3y]

That would have been a great engineering meeting.

Right team, our awesome 919 is retired.

But you can modify it with no rules. fill your boots!

[Sandpit Steve]

That’s awesome, outright lap record at Spa (for a few months anyway). Obviously it would be great to see which other tracks it can have a go at, and bloody well done to Porsche for not just mothballing the car. Now, have they got a driver with the balls to go for Bellof’s ‘ring record?

[Kawasicki]

Loads of drivers are brave/Crazy enough to drive this at the Ring. There would be queues out the door...now how many are actually capable of setting a new record is another question.

[blearyeyedboy]

An interesting revival of the Formula Free concept.

But would a totally regulation-free car look more like a single seater? Would it have a closed cockpit?

It's an intriguing thought.

[BVB]

Brillliant. If WEC allowed this spec, and Ferrari also built one. I would ditch F1 in a second!

[Vitorio]

BVB said:

Brillliant. If WEC allowed this spec, and Ferrari also built one. I would ditch F1 in a second!

There is a whole bunch of issues with the idea of running this in WEC though, no headlights means LM24 is right out of the question, no airjack system means pitstops would need more crew (currently heavily restricted), and removing fuel limits would go right against the whole green image thing of the hybrid formula

[Fetthobler]

blearyeyedboy said:

An interesting revival of the Formula Free concept.

But would a totally regulation-free car look more like a single seater? Would it have a closed cockpit?

It's an intriguing thought.

This question has been raised to Adrian Newey some years back. He came up with the Red Bull X1, if there wouldn't be any regulations this is how a racing car would look like for him. I remember reading an article about this car with Neweys comments. According to him, the tires needs to be covered and the cockpit too. Furthermore he installed a turbocharged engine and a fan that is vacuuming the air under the car to allow it to generate impressive G's even on tight, slow corners. On Gran Turismo it was for me almost impossible to drive, even Sebastian Vettel struggled, I remember a video.

A regulation free racing series would be mental!

[m444ttb]

I read an interview somewhere that stated Porsche was intending to continue with development of the V6 hybrid engine that they had intended to replace the 919's V4 as a training ground for engineers. I wonder whether that will make it into a 919 Evo2? I assume that had it raced it would have been a more powerful IC engine and reduced MGU power so without that restriction you might see something akin to a de-restricted F1-type engine augmented by 440bhp of MGU power. That'd be something to see!

Question for those more knowledgeable... does a closed cockpit car like this have ultimately more potential than an open cockpit (assuming both are likely to share the same sort of powertrain)? I'd assumed extra weight from the added bodywork but perhaps improved aero. From 'F-Zero' would be awesome. Something like this Porsche powered by a hybrid turbo V12 (or more) engine mounted where they like and powering however many wheels they want.

[coppice]

Another spurious claim for lap records. They are set in races , not in a private track session .

[Leithen]

I'd rather they spent the money supporting one or more privateers running their 919's at Le Mans.

[Aids0G]

Love the idea of this and good on Porsche for exploring the potential of their car, hope they go for many more records!

Hopefully somebody can enlighten me as to why there is a need in an unlimited sense outside of regs, to use a 2.0/1.6 turbo v4/6 when say a unrestricted NASCAR engine will produce 850hp pretty reliably out of the box? is it a weight issue or power delivery characteristics or even integration with MGU's etc?

Thanks

[Krikkit]

Aids0G said:

Love the idea of this and good on Porsche for exploring the potential of their car, hope they go for many more records!

Hopefully somebody can enlighten me as to why there is a need in an unlimited sense outside of regs, to use a 2.0/1.6 turbo v4/6 when say a unrestricted NASCAR engine will produce 850hp pretty reliably out of the box? is it a weight issue or power delivery characteristics or even integration with MGU's etc?

Thanks

Outside the regs it's just packaging. In this case though it wouldn't be worth completely re-engineering the whole car to fit a few more hp.

Within the regs it's about energy limits per lap and per second, hence choosing an efficient powerplant (relatively) and a potent hybrid system with a big focus on regeneration.