Porsche at Le Mans: What Went Wrong?
Porsche’s 20-year Old Engine and Supermarket Chassis Were Just Not Up to It
Despite having the largest presence with four cars racing in the Hypercar field, it all went wrong and Porsche suffered among its worst Le Mans results since it has raced for overall 24 Hour honors. Truth be told, none of its cars were ever really in contention for the 2023 win as the best of them struggled home a lowly ninth overall.
Le Mans winners a record 19 times, while three of the Porsche’s indeed led the race at one point or another in the early running, they were mainly ahead due to anomalies in pitstop strategy between the various cars. All of which ponders the question, what went wrong?
On the face of it, there were many challenges. Difficult wet and dry conditions to start, tough opposition and crashes made for their fair share of drama. But then all Le Mans teams faced those same tribulations. Porsche’s problems however stemmed more from car issues than on track challenges, and that may well be deeper set than it may first appear.
Was Porsche Simply Just Too Complacent?
Could it be that Zufferhausen was just too complacent on its Sarthe return? That Porsche rested too hard on its impeccable Le Mans laurels? And how much of that is down to it rescuing a 20-year-old engine from obscurity and cobbling it to a supermarket chassis and hybrid system? All while its winning and second placed rivals went the whole Hypercar hog?
The ninth-placed number 5 Porsche spent more than 20 minutes in the pits for cooling system repairs during the night. That took it out of contention before the car stuttered over the finish line, hobbled by a defect in its series supplied LMDh drivetrain.
The number 6 car lost more than half an hour replacing its LMDh standard Williams Engineering hybrid battery overnight. That over and above 40 more minutes lost repairing crash and puncture damage. It ended up a disappointing 22nd overall, 11th among the Hypercars, and 22 laps behind the winning Ferrari and second-placed Toyota.
‘Le Mans Was Disappointing’ – Porsche
Hertz Team Jota’s privateer Porsche was another 963 to lead the way. But that was also short lived when an accident saw the team lose over an hour to repair the damage of two crashes. It then lost even more time to replace a defective FIA rear axle torque sensor.
The fourth 963 number 75, so numbered to celebrate three-quarters of a century of Porsche success at Le Mans, lost power and rolled to a stop out on the track. It retired without fuel pressure after just six hours.
“Le Mans was disappointing”, Porsche Factory Motorsport boss Thomas Lautenbach confessed. “We’d hoped for more, but there are various reasons why we were not successful. Now we must take a good look at these issues and improve from there.”
So what’s wrong, why is there a lack of potential?
“We cannot say that Le Mans was a good weekend or a good race,” Porsche LMDh program boss Urs Kuratle added. “It’s definitely not a good result for us. “We are not there on paper, nor in terms of package and potential, which makes things hard.”
“Of course it’s disappointing,” driver Andre Lotterer rued. “We came here to win, but we cannot hide it; we had to drive on the limit just to be on the pace and we had too many reliability issues. The others were just faster. Hopefully we can improve the car, but we also need potential, and we do not have that.”
All of which leaves one pondering why there’s a lack of potential. And that perhaps leads back to the 20-year-old engine and supermarket chassis scenario.
Wrong Number 1: A 20-Year-Old Engine Design
Porsche designed and developed with Penske Racing input in 2004, the 478 HP normally aspirated 32-valve quad-camshaft 90-degree 3.4-litre MR6 V8 racing engine was introduced in 2005. It evolved with ALMS and ACO regulations to develop 503 HP in 2008 and then 440 HP with direct petrol injection and air restrictors for 2009. It was a state-of-the-art engine. In 2005, that was.
Porsche then developed the MR6 V8 into to a hybridized 447 kW 4.6-liter unit for the 918 Spyder street supercar. It used 200 bar direct fuel injection with centrally located hex-holed solenoid injectors to ensure most efficient low-emission combustion. The MR6 V8 retains its titanium connecting rods and thin-walled low-pressure crankcase and cylinder head castings.
Featuring a HSI ‘hot side inside’ top exhaust, the 918 engine created the foundation for Porsche Panamera and Cayenne V8s. Nineteen years later, Porsche returned the MR6 V8 to service in the 963. Once again in its initial 3.4-litre get-up, this time with twin turbochargers. That’s paired to the standard LMDh hybrid comprising Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch and Xtrac components.
Wrong Number 2: A Supermarket Chassis and Driveline
That is all then cobbled into the back of Porsche’s choice of the Multimatic chassis from the four standard bases available to the LMDh class. It is finished off with Porsche’s own bodywork and aerodynamics. Stand trackside, and the Porsche sounds deficient. It’s fluffy engine note has an odd beat versus the Ferrari, Toyota and even the Peugeot. Mute compared to the spectacular Cadillac.
But forget the Caddy. They too, could not match the Toyotas and Ferraris. And the reason for that appears to be becoming more obvious by the race. See, while the Le Mans Porsches and Cadillacs, and the forthcoming Alpine, BMW, Lamborghini, and others comply to the same standard chassis and hybrid system LMDh specification, the Ferrari and Toyota are built to full LMH Hypercar specification.
Which means that Toyota, Ferrari and also Peugeot, built everything themselves, to the new Hypercar spec. The Ferrari uses a brand new 3-litre V6 borrowed from its 296 GTB street sister. The twin-turbocharged 120° Italian V6 is brand new.
Did Ferrari, Toyota Do it Right, Porsche Wrong?
Like the Ferrari, the 671 HP Toyota has its own 200 HP hybrid system with specifically built motor-generator, lithium-ion batteries, and system. The Toyota’s latest 3.5-liter biturbo version of its H8909 V6 was first developed in 2016 and completely re-engineered two years ago for the 010 Hypercar.
In other words, the no-compromise Ferrari and Toyota are custom built from the ground up. What’s more, they have latest technology combustion engines, and their hybrid equipment is also 2023 state of the art. Porsche instead appears to have fished it’s ancient 918 V8 out of its engine boneyard, threw a couple of turbos at it and fixed the lot to a standard chassis and hybrid system.
Which also begs the question, when last did Zufferhausen bother developing a new ICE? Not an update, but a completely new engine like Ferrari’s 3-litre V6. Or Toyota’s similar 2.4-litre?
Either way, Porsche’s latest Le Mans effort goes down as perhaps its most dismal in its 24 Hour history. Ninth behind Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, even privateers Glickenhaus, and Peugeot, is a shocking result.
Porsche’s 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour Effort Fell Way Short
That was especially disappointing considering that both Toyota and Ferrari were hit with extra ballast weight before the race. Or that there were four Porsches versus Ferrari and Toyota’s two each. And neither of them had perfect 2023 runs either.
No, to be perfectly frank, Porsche’s much vaunted 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour effort fell way short of expectations. And while everyone has all forms of excuses as to why, and hope for the future, the reality may be far simpler.
Porsche took the easy route back to Le Mans. It rested heavily on his fine 24 Hour laurels. It arrived with drums rolling, expecting immediate success. But when push came to shove, its 20-year-old engine mated to a supermarket chassis and hybrid gubbins, was never going to cut the mustard. Especially when neither Ferrari nor Toyota cut any corners.
So, What Comes Next for Porsche at Le Mans…?
Sad is it may seem, Porsche failed dismally at Le Mans this year. And most probably because it did a half job. To beat Ferrari and Toyota, never mind Cadillac, Peugeot, the garagiste and the coming rest, Zufferhausen needs a bit more than that. And it needs it soon, for no matter how many Le Mans Porsche has won, everyone only remembers the last one.
All of which is why it will be more than just interesting to see what happens next in Porsche’s Le Mans future plans. Because none of us want to see another year like this…
Photos: Michele & Giordano Lupini, Porsche