Sounds hard to believe, but Porsche revealed its 919 Hybrid endurance race carback in 2014. It was a big deal because it represented Porsche’s return to endurance racing after being absent for a few years. But the 919 Hybrid was unique because it featured hybrid technology that has now found its way to production cars. But the 919 didn’t just serve as a technology test bed. It was also a winner on the race track. During its four-year career, the 919 won six world championship titles and three Le Mans victories. Now it’s officially being retired.
Its job has been completed and it’s time for Porsche to move on to even more advanced racing and, eventually, production technologies. But the 919’s legacy will very much live forever.
After all, the hybrid expertise Porsche gained has been applied to today’s new Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid and even the upcoming production version of the Mission E concept. The 919 proved it’s entirely possible that a tiny combustion engine – 2.0-liter, to be exact – when combined with turbocharged technology and battery-powered electric motors, can have both performance and reliability. Those electric motors alone push around 400 hp, and its 2.2-second 0 to 60 mph time is phenomenal.
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