The n°17 driven by Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber will be in red, in honour of the first Porsche to have won Le Mans in 1970. The Porsche 917’s victory was the first of a record 16 wins for the constructor in the French 24-hour marathon.

The n°18, which, like the n°17 is also running in the FIA World Endurance Championship will be clad in sleek black, a nod to the ultra-exclusive 918 Spyder, of which 918 were produced. A black version of the supercar broke the production car lap record at the Nürburgring circuit. The driver was none other than Marc Lieb, who will be in the cockpit of the n°18 along with Neel Jani and Romain Dumas, who won Le Mans in 2010 with Audi.

Lastly, the n°19, entered for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be in the hands of Earl Bamber, Nico Hülkenberg and Nick Tandy. The car will be keeping its white livery, the colour chosen by Porsche for last year’s return to Le Mans.

The livery of a racing car often depends on sponsors, but it is not always the case. Latvian designer Anatole Lapine chose the violet and green livery for the long-tail Porsche known to many as “the hippie car” and suggested the colour of the most famous, most photographed Porsche, the pink 917, nicknamed “the pink pig”. The Le Mans car withdrew from the race in 1971 yet remains a favourite with visitors to the Porsche museum in Zuffenhausen.

Cécile Bonardel / ACO Translated from French by Emma Paulay

Photo: D.R. Porsche