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.

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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.

Fernando Alonso in Toyota gear

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.

Sébastien Buemi smiling in red bull cap

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.

André Lotterer pointing to the crowd

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.

Nick Tandy_Porsche


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


Gallery

LMP1 on track during a sunset

Farewell to LMP1: a defining era of sportscar racing finished in 2020, with Toyota dominating to score its third-straight win. A constant in all of them was Kazuki Nakajima. He became the first circuit-racing Japanese FIA world champion in 2018-19, following world rally star Toshi Arai’s 2005 and 2007 Production WRC wins

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Aston Martins on track at Le Mans

The explosion in popularity of GT racing has been a boost for Le Mans, and the GTE Pro and Am classes were a real highlight. Aston Martin was a constant, winning three times between 2014-2020. This is the 2015 Art Car in action

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Nakajima walks off track after car failure

Nakajima could easily have been a four-time Le Mans winner, had it not been for heartbreak in 2016 when his car cut out while starting the final lap with just three minutes left, handing victory to Porsche. Here he is helped from the stricken TS050 Hybrid in tears

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Audi’s twin-tusked R15 TDI 1st, 2nd and 3rd

They certainly weren’t pretty, but they were devastatingly effective. Audi’s twin-tusked R15 TDI Plus sweep the podium in 2010, with Timo Bernhard/Mike Rockenfeller/Romain Dumas taking the win

Fernando Alonso’s and Sébastien Buemi celebrate after winning Le Mans in 2018

Fernando Alonso’s WEC sojourn pays off! The Spaniard and Switzerland’s Sébastien Buemi (R) celebrate after winning Le Mans in 2018 with Toyota. Alonso would win again in 2019 and still holds a 100% record in the race

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Thumbs up from Jim Glickenhaus in 2022

US film director and team owner Jim Glickenhaus in 2022. He would watch one of his Hypercars score a podium finish

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Audi engineer Leena Gade at Le Mans in 2011

One of Le Mans’ defining women – Audi engineer Leena Gade became the first female race engineer to win Le Mans in 2011

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Corvette C6.R at Le Mans in 2013

Nobody could mistake that rumble. The sound of a Corvette echoing round the pits at night is a right of passage for endurance racing fans. This is the 2013 C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook

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Alex Lynn and Nicki Thiim with Aston Martin Racing in the 2020

Giving them the ol’ one-three: Alex Lynn and Nicki Thiim stage a GTE Pro formation finish for Aston Martin Racing in the 2020 race. Lynn/Maxime Martin/Harry Tincknell’s #97 took the glory, with the sister car finishing third

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