Photo : Arnaud CORNILLEAU - Arnaud CORNILLEAU / ACO

 

Present for the first time in La Sarthe about 45 years ago, the 917 was the car with all the records in 1971, with the fastest lap and pole position in the history of the 24 Hours, as well as a distance record that was not surpassed until 2010. For several years now, its timeless character has been reincarnated in an exceptional car and the new prototype that debuted in competition this year.

Porsche 918, two historic liveries - Having appeared in 2010 as part of the 80th edition of the Geneva Motor Show, the 918 brought back two historic liveries of the 917 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: that of the Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg team, with its stylized flames emanating from the headlights, in reference to Richard Attwood's and Hans Herrmann's victory in 1970; and that of the Martini Racing team, reminiscent of Gijs van Lennep's and Helmut Marko's car, the winners in 1971.

Porsche 919 Hybrid, a new chapter - The white colour of the 919 Hybrid echoes the era when cars sported one colour symbolizing their country - as it happens, white for Germany which was already on the very first 917 cars (as well as the factory 908) that appeared in Le Mans in 1969, whereas the mention of "Porsche Intelligence Performance" recalls that all Stuttgart prototypes that have won the 24 Hours (917, 936, 956, 962 C) were state of the art in technological innovation at their time. So it is a safe bet that, sooner or later, the 919 Hybrid will join this prestigious lineage in reaching the top step of the podium in La Sarthe...

For othes stories about Porsche's saga at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, go to the official microsite Mission 2014 – Our Return.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), SUNDAY 8TH JUNE, 2014, TEST DAY. Porsche comes back to the LM P1 prototype class with two cars.

INFORMATION
24 HOURS OF LE MANS - June 14 & 15, 2014

Tickets - Entry List - Schedule

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