The times they are certainly a-changing. Bennett ponders Porsche’s move from the World Endurance Championship to Formula E, and why by 2040 we’ll be enjoying our fossil fuel-powered machines recreationally, plus front-engined Porsches on the up.
PORSCHE TO ENTER FORMULA E? SHOULD HAVE SEEN THAT ONE COMING
So the shock news from Porsche isn't so much that it's quitting the World Endurance Championship, from the end of this season, but more that's it's going to enter the Formula E Championship from 2019.
Without wishing to sound too smug, we predicted that 2017 would be Porsche's last in the WEC. Why? Well, the LMP1 class for hugely expensive hybrid prototypes is dying on its wheels and Audi had already started scribbling on the wall of its demise, by pulling out at the end of the 2016 season, leaving Porsche with just Toyota to play with.
Audi's decision was no great surprise. Since 1999, it had pretty much dominated WEC and Le Mans, introducing new tech like its FSI (direct fuel injection) engines and, of course, diesel. It was the diesel that spelt the end, hastened by the VW 'dieselgate' scandal, in which Audi was equally complicit. Now, racing a diesel powered LMP1 car didn't seem quite so green, hybrid assisted or not. Audi jumped and ran straight to Formula E, with a semi-works effort, with long time Audi tuners ABT. And Audi isn't alone. Mercedes has just announced that it will leave the DTM (German Touring Cars) championship in favour of Formula E, alongside just about every other major manufacturer (Jaguar, Honda, Renault, Toyota, Ford) it would appear. Call it motorsport virtue signalling.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of 911 & Porsche World.
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This story is from the October 2017 edition of 911 & Porsche World.
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