Porsche has confirmed that it has broken the track record at Spa-Francorchamps, the evo-version of its Le Mans-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid, Neel Jani setting a 1:41.770, eclipsing the previous record of 1:42.553 set by Lewis Hamilton in last year’s Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying session.

In the run, Jani achieved a top speed of 359 km/h and an average speed of 245.61 km/h on his record-breaking tour. The ambient temperature was 11° Celsius, and the track temperature was 13° Celsius.

“This was an absolute fantastic lap – an outstanding drivers’ performance from Neel and the result of great engineering,” Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1 said. “Today’s track record impressively proves the ultimate performance of the most innovative race car of its time. Our target was to show what the Porsche 919 Hybrid is able to do when we loosen the restrictions that normally come from the regulations.”

Team principal Andreas Seidl added: “This additional success is the result of the LMP team’s hard work and a proud day for the engineers. One can only congratulate Neel and the entire crew for achieving it. All six 2017 LMP1 drivers contributed to the project. It was our target to show the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s abilities when we ease the restrictions that came from the World Endurance Championship regulations.”

Neel Jani says the 919 Evo is the fastest car he’s ever driven; the Swiss going 12 seconds faster than the quickest LMP1 lap round Spa, achieved last year in WEC Qualifying before the 6 Hours.

“The 919 Evo is brutally impressive,” he said. “It is definitely the fastest car I ever drove. The grip level is at a fully new dimension for me, I couldn’t imagine this amount beforehand. The speed on which everything happens on a single lap with the 919 Evo is that fast that the demand on reaction speed is very different to what I was used to in the WEC.

“We are not only faster than the F1 pole from 2017. Today’s lap was twelve seconds faster compared to our WEC pole position from last year! We have had three very intense days at Spa. Today I knew on the very first lap in the morning that the car’s performance was super. The race engineers did a great job setting up the car and the Michelin tyres are sensational. A big thank you to Porsche for this experience.”

The programme’s chief race engineer, Stephen Mitas said it was a dream come true to further develop the 919 (using some of the pre-planned developments for 2018, before Porsche pulled the plug on its LMP1 programme) and show off its true potential.

“It was kind of an engineer’s dream come true for us”, the Australian admits. “Having developed, improved and raced the car for four years, the guys had a very close relationship to it. We all knew, no matter how successful the 919 Hybrid was, it could never show its full abilities. Actually even the Evo version doesn’t fully exploit the technical potential. This time we were not limited by regulations but resources.

“It is a very satisfying feeling that what we’ve done to the car was enough to crack the Formula One record.”

Porsche has outlined the changes made to the car for the run, and released technical specs, below:

“To prepare the record car, the base was the 2017 world championship car with several aerodynamic modifications, the entire hardware of the power train untouched.

“The 919 is powered by a compact two-litre turbo charged V4-cylinder engine and two different energy recovery systems – brake energy from the front axle combined with exhaust energy. The combustion engine drives the rear axle while the electro motor boosts the front axle to accelerate the car with four-wheel drive. At the same time it recuperates energy from the exhaust system that otherwise would pass unused in to the atmosphere. The electrical energy that comes from the front brakes and the exhaust system is temporarily stored in a liquid-cooled lithium ion battery.

“The WEC efficiency regulations limited the energy from fuel per lap by using a fuel flow meter. At the 2017 championship round in Spa, in the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s final season, it could use 1.784 kilogram/2.464 litres of petrol per lap. The V4 combustion engine’s output back then was around 500 HP. Freed from these restrictions, equipped with an updated software but running the regular race fuel (E20, containing 20 per cent bio ethanol), the 919 Hybrid Evo delivers 720 HP.

“The amount of energy from the two recovery systems that could be used in Spa 2017 was 6.37 megajoule. This was by far below the systems’ potential. On his record lap Neel Jani enjoyed a full boost of 8.49 megajoule – the e-machine’s output increased by ten per cent from 400 to 440 HP.

“The engineers also unchained the aerodynamics of the 919 Evo from the regulations. The new larger front diffuser now balances the new and very large rear wing, both of which have actively controlled drag reduction systems. The hydraulically operated systems trim the trailing edge of the front diffuser and opens up the slot between the rear wing main plane and the flap respectively in order increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the Evo.

“Underneath the Evo the turning vanes and floor have been optimised with fixed height side skirts to increase the aerodynamic performance again as efficiently as possible. In total the aero modifications resulted in 53 per cent higher downforce and an increase in efficiency by 66 per cent (compared to the 2017 Spa WEC qualifying).

“To help further expand the performance envelope, the super-fast Evo gained a four-wheel brake-by-wire system to provide additional yaw control. Furthermore, the power steering was adapted for the higher loads and stronger suspension wishbones (front and rear) were implemented.

“Compared to the car in race trim, the dry weight was reduced by 39 kilograms to 849 kilograms. To achieve this, everything was removed what isn’t needed for a single fast lap: air-conditioning, windscreen wiper, several sensors, electronic devices from race control, lights systems and the pneumatic jack system.

“Porsche’s multi-year tyre partner Michelin was immediately interested to work with a car that produces more downforce than a Formula One car. Keeping the tyre dimensions (31/71-18), the target was to increase the grip level significantly. Michelin developed new compounds to deliver the necessary grip with no compromise on safety.”

Following on from its Spa run, the tribute 919 will continue its farewell tour. It will be seen next for a demo lap on the legendary Nordschleife before the start of the 24-Hours Nürburgring race on May 12, before appearing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 12 to 15) and the Festival of Porsche at Brands Hatch (September 2), ahead of its participation at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion in Laguna Seca, California (September 26 to 29).

Technical specifications

Monocoque:

Composite material structure consisting of carbon fibre with an aluminium honeycomb core. The cockpit is closed.

Combustion engine:

V4 engine (90 degree cylinder bank angle), turbocharged, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, 1 Garrett turbocharger, direct petrol injection, fully load-bearing aluminium cylinder crankcase, dry sump lubrication

Max. engine speed: ≈ 9,000/min

Engine management:

Bosch MS5

Displacement:

2,000 cm3 (V4 engine)

Output:

Combustion engine: 720 PS, rear axle (< 500 PS) MGU: 440 PS, front axle (> 400 PS)

Hybrid system:

KERS with a motor generator unit (MGU) mounted on the front axle; ERS for recuperation of energy from exhaust gases. Energy storage in a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with cells from A123 Systems

Drive system:

Rear wheel drive, traction control (ASR), temporary all-wheel drive at the front axle via the electric motor when boosted, hydraulically operated sequential 7-speed racing gearbox

Chassis:

Independent front and rear wheel suspension, push-rod layout with adjustable dampers and Pitch Link System with actively controlled lockout system (no actively controlled lockout system in the 919 WEC version)

Brake system:

4-wheel brake-by-wire system (front-rear brake-by-wire system), monoblock light alloy brake calipers, ventilated carbon fibre brake discs front and rear.

Variable control of wheel torques to optimize the car balance (variable control of torque distribution front to rear)

Wheels and tyres:

Forged magnesium wheel rims from BBS; Michelin Radial tyres, front and rear: 310/710-18

Weight: 849 kg (888 kg including driver ballast)

Length: 5,078 mm (4,650 mm)

Width: 1,900 mm

Height: 1,050 mm

Fuel tank capacity: 62.3 litres

Photos courtesy of Porsche