Skip to main content

Porsche Considers Kicking Ferrari’s Ass in Formula 1

The brain trust at Porsche is starting to wonder if its motorsports budget might be better spent racing against Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes in Formula 1 rather than winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans against broken down Toyotas.

Porsche has always had a tumultuous relationship with the single seater series: Stuttgart first pulled out in the ’60s due to costs after just two years and one race win, the ’80s saw Porsche power McLaren to two constructors championships and twenty-five race victories, and lastly, an embarrassing 1991 return in which the company’s engines failed to qualify more than half the time.

But now, if reports from Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport are to be believed, Porsche is once again evaluating a return to the pinnacle of motorsport, with Porsche’s board poised to decide in the next few weeks if the sports car and SUV manufacturer will pull out of the World Endurance Championship in favor of Formula 1.

It’s believed Porsche was one of the manufacturers in attendance during F1’s engine constructor meeting that took place on July 4th. The meeting included current manufacturers Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda, along with Aston Martin, Ilmor Engineering, and Cosworth as the FIA works to hammer out engine regulations for 2021 and beyond.

Should Porsche decide to participate its engine concept would need to be finalized by 2019 before appearing on the grid in either 2020 or 2021, ruling out a potential rekindling of the McLaren-Porsche relationship for next season.

For Porsche, there’s not much left to accomplish in the WEC after dominating the series since returning in 2014, including three overall victories at Le Mans along with consecutive drivers and constructors championships in 2015 and 2016.

With Audi quitting prototype racing last year, the series has lost much of its luster with only two top shelf manufacturers competing for overall wins. Should Porsche decide to pull out of the WEC immediately, it’s thought the company could join sister brand Audi competing in Formula E as a stop gap.

Whatever happens, Zuffenhausen will officially announce its decision before the WEC’s Mexican round in early September.

This article first appeared on luxury4play.com

The post Porsche Considers Kicking Ferrari’s Ass in Formula 1 appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2varQP0
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...
Post a Comment
Read more