Porsche confirms development of new Le Mans Prototype (w/video)

The Porsche 917K was the first outright winner for Porsche at Le Mans; the German manufacturer hopes to repeat the feat in 2014 (all images courtesy of Porsche)

With their win at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi is inching ever-closer to the all-time overall win record held by Porsche; Audi’s 10 overall win count plays Porsche’s 16, won mostly in the 1980s with the all-conquering 956/962 prototype.

In the motorsport world, wins at Le Mans are to manufacturers as winning the Stanley Cup is to NHL teams in Canada. Porsche, being the proud manufacturer that it is, appears to be growing tired of sitting idly by while Audi drivers continue to wear the laurels around their necks on Sunday nights in June.

These GT1-98s finished 1-2 at Le Mans in 1998, the last time any Porsche completed the feat

It’s not that Porsche has been absent from Le Mans; in fact, cars with Porsche badges on their nose have been competing there—often winning—every year since the late ‘60s. But, Le Mans is a race divided into numerous classes, and while Porsche has had recent success in France with racing versions of the venerable 911 entered by third-party, or “privateer” teams, an overall victory by a “factory-backed” team has not occurred since 1998. That year, a Porsche GT1-98 prototype won outright; that car was driven by Laurent Aiello, Allan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli—all three of whom have since made the successful jump to Audi, with McNish helping win overall in 2000.

Racing is as much about politics as any other professional sport out there and clear Porsche was tired of Audi stealing its podium placements along with its drivers.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhOsDzSJ0bk&feature=player_embedded

Matthias Müller, Board President of Porsche AG, said in a statement that “(m)otorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand. So for us, it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing.”

Porsche confirmed that statement via email today; expect to see a top-class Porsche prototype lining up at the front of the grid during the 82^nd running of the race in 2014. They are saying that that’s how long it will take to develop the car, but I can assure you that the significance of the number “82” is not lost on the cagey racing vets at Porsche; 1982 saw the first race and subsequent victory (in a string of six straight) for the aforementioned 956/962 racer. Superstition being what it is in racing, that may mean a whole lot more than some may think.

The RS Spyder punched way above its weight class on numerous occasions; Porsche hopes to channel some of its spirit for their new LMP1 car

It’s going to be no easy task; Audi’s current racer, the R18, just competed and won its first Le Mans 24 Hours this year, no doubt benefitting from the lessons learned throughout Audi’s dominance from the year 2000-on. Of course, Porsche is no stranger to the prototype class; their (since retired) RS Spyder prototype was a very successful machine in its time, especially on the varied grids of the American Le Mans Series. It was developed for the LMP2/P2 class meaning it was never supposed to win overall (those spots were usually designated for the LMP1/P1 contestants) but it did—13 times.

Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport, is keenly aware of this.

“We’re looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder,” he said in a statement . “Now we will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car (and) the integration of hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option.”

The GT3 R Hybrid is a pioneer in alternative-fuel racing, featuring tech that Porsche ins't ruling out for their new racer

Porsche is no stranger to hybrid racing, either; their GT3 R Hybrid has already seen success that we don’t think many could have predicted and when the consumer-level 918 eventually makes it into the hands of its owners, a revolution in performance motoring may very well be afoot.

As far as we’re concerned, 2014 can’t come soon enough; Audi is a strong manufacturer with a rich history in motorsport and it heaviest competition, mainly from Peugeot, has made for some compelling racing but with Porsche once again at the top of its game…well, let’s just say we’re going to see some racing with a dial that goes up to 11.