How Porsche's 919 Hybrid Reclaimed Le Mans Glory
Porsche's return to Le Mans in 2014 with the 919 Hybrid led to a dominating performance for the next three years, winning every title put in front of it. The car ran a tiny 2-liter V4 engine with twin energy recovery systems, producing almost 1200bhp in the Evo version.
Car to remember
Porsche 919 Hybrid
Let’s face it: after its domination of the race through both the 1970s and ’80s, Le Mans had become something of a strange place without Porsche. Sure, there were the near-constant GT efforts, but the Stuttgart marque is the sort of name that should always be vying for outright top spot. It is the most successful brand of all at Le Mans, having racked up 19 overall wins, courtesy of 36 different drivers. But prior to 2015 that tally stood three wins short, and Porsche hadn’t celebrated an overall victory since 1998… Enter the 919 Hybrid.
The hybrid LMP1 rules that were brought in for 2012 quickly grew, and grew in more ways than one. What started out as a world-leading display of racing efficiency gradually developed into a war for all-out power. By 2016, LMP1 Hybrid cars were developing obscene levels of power, and lap times were tumbling. But none were quite as well put together as the 919 Hybrid. Porsche took a very pragmatic approach to the car, deciding in 2011 that it would arrive for 2014, and be up and running at least a full year before that. Porsche has never been scared to take its time, and what arrived was rather remarkable. At its heart the 919 Hybrid ran a tiny 2-litre V4 engine, which Porsche’s engineers had managed to coax 500bhp from, and added to that were twin energy recovery systems (kinetic from the brakes and heat from the exhaust), feeding their energy into a lithium ion battery that could then send it direct to the front axle on command to create temporary four-wheel drive. When the 919 Hybrid arrived at Le Mans in 2014, Porsche was incredibly keen to play the underdog card, but few were surprised to see the car leading the race at one point. Ultimately, it failed to win on debut against an impeccably drilled Audi team, but 2015 was a different story. The car was lighter, stiffer, the engine was tuned to as much as 600bhp, with an additional 400bhp available from the hybrid. Read 1000bhp, in race trim, and three works cars on the grid. Ultimately, the third car of Earl Bamber, Nico Hülkenberg and Nick Tandy would emerge victorious in a fight determined by Tandy’s outstanding night-time stint. And from there the 919 Hybrid steamrollered both Le Mans and the WEC for the next three years, winning every title put in front of it. As a fitting tribute, Porsche took the reins off to create a monstrous Evo version, simply to show how fast the design could go without regulation. It weighed just 850kg and produced almost 1200bhp. Lap records fell to it around the world, including Neel Jani breaking the F1 lap record at Spa, hitting 223.1mph on the Kemmel Straight.
Stars of the decade
Fernando Alonso
Forget the cynical marketing ploy of his self-imposed mission to match Graham Hill’s Triple Crown, Alonso was genuinely a class act at Le Mans, winning on both his attempts with Toyota.
Sébastien Buemi
Red Bull’s ousted F1 protege took a while to find his feet in LMP1, but is now on course to etch his name into the list of all-time greats, boasting four Le Mans wins from the last five. Kristensen-esque form.
André Lotterer
Forget F1, he never needed it. Lotterer is simply too good and too quick in a sportscar. Three wins for Audi alongside Fässler/Tréluyer made them the trio to beat, and now he’s back, with Porsche.
Nick Tandy
Only one win (so far) but what a win it was. His stand-out night-time stint in 2015 won the race for Porsche. Lost to the GT ranks, he did get one more go in LMP1, and was leading in 2017 when his engine blew.
The winners
2010
Audi R15 TDI Plus
Mike Rockenfeller/Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas
5411km
2011
Audi R18 TDI
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer,
4838km
2012
Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer,
5152km
2013
Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Loïc Duval/ Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish,
4742.9km
2014
Audi R18 e-tron quattro
Marcel Fässler/Benoît Treluyer/André Lotterer
5165.4km
2015
Porsche 919 Hybrid
Earl Bamber/Nico Hülkenberg/Nick Tandy
5382.8km
2016
Porsche 919 Hybrid
Romain Dumas/Neel Jani/Marc Lieb
5233.5km
2017
Porsche 919 Hybrid
Earl Bamber/Timo Bernhard/Brendon Hartley
5001.2km
2018
Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Fernando Alonso/Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima
5286.8km
2019
Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Fernando Alonso/Sébastien Buemi/Kazuki Nakajima
5246km
2020
Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Kazuki Nakajima
5272.5km
2021
Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/José María López,
5054.5km
2022
Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryo Hirakawa,
5177.1km