Porsche back in Le Mans!

[Sombrero]

Aero wise there's less freedom but engine wise it's wide open. LMP 2014 regs are technically more interesting than the F-1 2014 regs.

[ESPImperium]

Really really like the look of the car, however i think there is some transfer of IP from Ingolstadt somewhere. The car has some R18 stilling queues but LMP racing is very aero restrictive now, especially in the P2 category, the P1 there is a element of pushing the grey areas but not as much as F1.

All thats needed is for Puegoet to return and run a 2 car WEC team as well. with Audi, Toyota, Porsche and Puegoet all running 3 cars at Le Mans as well, each supplying a 2 car privateer team with engine for LMP1 as well, LMP1 may just start to make one hell of a sense. 20 LMP1 cars on the grid with 15 LMP2s with the ability to run F1 engines as well. That would make 12 GTE cars and 7 Grand Am/DTM/Super GT teams running 6 single car teams as well and the 54th garage for innovation.

Endurance racing next year i feel will be very interesting indeed.

The narrower track rules that are coming will be interesting to see how they come from a 2000cm wide to a 1900 wide car.

[WhiteBlue]

Is there any kind of information what kind of propulsion system Porsche have decided? I wonder how close they will be to 2014 F1. They will certainly have a petrol engine, one assumes?

[scotty86]

Is there any kind of information what kind of propulsion system Porsche have decided? I wonder how close they will be to 2014 F1. They will certainly have a petrol engine, one assumes?

Petrol engine confirmed in this article, as is hybrid tech (all somewhat obvious given the 918 i guess...). Surprised that no one has been able to say even how many cylinders the engine has though. But you would assume a V8 or V10 (imo most likely a V8, speculating from the 918 again).

I absolutely cannot wait for Le Mans next year. It would be even better if Nissan were to return as rumoured in the not too distant past... but that is probably unlikely really.

It's just such a shame that Peugeot dropped out, cause we could have had an LMP1 golden era on our hands

[matt21]

Is there any kind of information what kind of propulsion system Porsche have decided? I wonder how close they will be to 2014 F1. They will certainly have a petrol engine, one assumes?

Porsche said, that it is not a inline 6 nor a flat 6. There are rumours that it will be a 2-litre inline 4. But it makes no sense for me marketing wise.

[Paul]

That sort of hints at a V6, doesn't it?

[WhiteBlue]

Porsche is a part of the VW concern now and you have to assume that they will be tempted to pursue the world engine approach. Bernie and Ferrari managed to stall the world engine concept which was to a certain degree favoured by the FiA and would have been more efficient over the V6 concept that is now selected for F1. I can imagne that Porsche will be tempted to demonstrate the superiority of that concept. A turbocharged four cylinder 2L engine should have some efficiency reserves over the 1.6 L V6. To make it win Le Mans should make that obvious to the wider public. Porsche could well have decided to generally switch to smaller and fewer cylinders for their future engine program. So marketing wise it would not be a dumb plan. On the other hand they might be tempted to select a concept that they can use to switch into F1 at any time. In that case they wold obviously need to do a V6. So it is difficult to say at the time what their preferences are. Interesting times we are seeing.

[marcush.]

there is a flat 4 in development in Weissach for some time now...so why not have a competition version of it ? marketingwise it would be a viable opportunity to showcase the downsized powertrains of the future as attractive and not mouse .....

[WhiteBlue]

I don't think anybody would choose a flat design for an LMP1 or F1 car given the aerodynamic and packaging requirements.

[wesley123]

I dont think a flat 6 would be all that bad in current LMP's it would fit really well on the floor of the car(with the regulated floor).

As for aero and packaging I dont think it would make a big of a difference, there is enough area around the cockpit for the engine to fit in and it would also be below the lowest point of the bodywork.

[Ted68]

Porsche said, that it is not a inline 6 nor a flat 6. There are rumours that it will be a 2-litre inline 4. But it makes no sense for me marketing wise.

Porsche has long been rumored to be bringing a new 4-cyl to market in new a sub-Boxster sized model. So there may be a tie in.

[matt21]

I dont think a flat 6 would be all that bad in current LMP's it would fit really well on the floor of the car(with the regulated floor).

As for aero and packaging I dont think it would make a big of a difference, there is enough area around the cockpit for the engine to fit in and it would also be below the lowest point of the bodywork.

From a packaging point of view a flat engine is not the best. It has to be lifted in order to allow installation of the exhaust (or intake) system below the cylinder heads. This would raise the CoG. (Best would be 144°-V-engine)

Back in the 80´s with the 956/962 they had to compromise the underwing with the flat-6.


Also from an efficency point of view it would be better to use an 180°-V-engine rather than a flat design, as the pumping losses in the crankcase would be lower then.
And for non-technical people this would still be a flat design, as it looks similar from the outside.

[aleks_ader]

Edit1 text: Some hi-res pictures fromt testing of new Porsche LPM1 contender for 2014:

[wesley123]

I dont think a flat 6 would be all that bad in current LMP's it would fit really well on the floor of the car(with the regulated floor).

As for aero and packaging I dont think it would make a big of a difference, there is enough area around the cockpit for the engine to fit in and it would also be below the lowest point of the bodywork.

From a packaging point of view a flat engine is not the best. It has to be lifted in order to allow installation of the exhaust (or intake) system below the cylinder heads. This would raise the CoG. (Best would be 144°-V-engine)

Back in the 80´s with the 956/962 they had to compromise the underwing with the flat-6.
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/Porsche-MF12.jpg

Also from an efficency point of view it would be better to use an 180°-V-engine rather than a flat design, as the pumping losses in the crankcase would be lower then.
And for non-technical people this would still be a flat design, as it looks similar from the outside.

True, back then the flat 6 was a packaging disadvantage due to the underbody having less area. However, that now isnt the case anymore with the regulated underbody.

Also, for example Audi recently switched the cylinder heads, which gave the possibility to exit the exhaust on the inside of the engine, rather than the outside, this, in the case of Audi, cleaned up the engine bay by a huge amount.

So packaging and aero arent much of a problem anymore, but ofc the other downsides of a flat 6 still count.

[WhiteBlue]

So packaging and aero arent much of a problem anymore, but ofc the other downsides of a flat 6 still count.

The same is true for a flat four which some thought may be a possible option. Personally I believe they will not do it because it would block the option to use it in F1. I still think it is either four in line or a V6.