Starting from the 2023 racing season, Porsche Penske Motorsport will enter its LMDh prototype in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America.
Previously seen in a series of teaser images and digital renderings, this is the first time we’ve been able to see the Porsche LMDh racing prototype fully, although it is still covered with a black and white camouflage wrap.
The Porsche LMDh racer has a fundamental Le Mans prototype-style silhouette with a large front splitter, bulging and sculpted wheel arches, as well as a large rear wing and a diffuser.
Porsche has announced that its LMDh prototype is powered by a “large-capacity” twin-turbo V8 engine and a standardized hybrid system.
These standardized hybrid components include a 50kW Bosch hybrid system, a battery pack from Williams Advanced Engineering, and a transmission from Xtrac. The total system power is capped at 500kW.
Although the hybrid system is standardized, participating car manufacturers can choose the engine it is paired with, as long as it complies with the regulations.
According to the class rules, the internal combustion engine must have a maximum rev limit of 10,000 rpm and a drive-by noise measure below 110 decibels.
The regulations also stipulate that hybrid prototypes must have a minimum weight of 1030 kg, and the internal combustion engine must weigh a minimum of 180 kg, including the air supply, exhaust system, turbochargers (if used), and peripheral cooling components.
“We had many options to choose from for the engine of our LMDh prototype because the product range offers several promising reference units,” said Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach.
“We opted for the twin-turbo V8, which we believe offers the best combination of performance, weight, and cost characteristics.”
Conceived jointly by IMSA, FIA, and ACO, this hybrid hypercar class was created so that prototype drivers can compete in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the U.S. and the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans with the same body construction.
The Porsche racer will be built on a platform developed by Canadian engineering firm Multimatic.
These LMDh platforms are based on an upgraded LMP2 chassis, of which four are available from four different manufacturers: Dallara, Ligier, ORECA, and Multimatic.
Other manufacturers such as Acura, Audi, BMW, and Cadillac have confirmed entries for the LMDh class in 2023, and Alpine will join in 2024.
