Porsche Back LMDh 2023

[ellroy]

Just announced. Likely to be using the v8 from the Cayenne as base engine.

Excellent news.

[LM240]

Amazing news!

Things are suddenly looking very good again for Le Mans. 2023 still a way off, but good news.

Only bit I wish they’d sort out is having one ‘premier’ class.. lmdh / HyperCar all balanced out. Just leads to confusion. Lmdh seems to have kicked things off again, sink the ‘hypercar’ aspect. I’d love to see road based top class like GT1 but it hasn’t had the uptake to support it properly.

Also reading the full press release, Porsche may be open to customer cars also. Bonus.

Edited by LM240 on Wednesday 16th December 08:00

[Blink982]

Great news! Hopefully more manufacturers will follow suit.

[//j17]

What strikes me as odd about this is that both (VAG-owned) Porsche and (VAG-owned) Audi are going for the (Riley/) Multimatic chassis which, let's face it wasn't exactly the best to come out of the first round of spec LMP2 chassis. OK Multimatic got it to more-or-less work for Mazda eventually...under DPi regs but when was the last time we saw much more than a single chassis in WEC/Le Mans, or ever saw one do anything more than finish?

Or are we looking at more than just a chassis purchase, and more a (VAG at least part-owned) Multimatic...?

[Some Gump]

Who made that graphic?

Porsche have announced LMDh, which is NOT hypercar. It's a totally different rule set!!

[Welshbeef]

ellroy said:

Just announced. Likely to be using the v8 from the Cayenne as base engine.

Excellent news.

Is this a similar block from the Panamera

[LawrieC]

//j17 said:

……...Or are we looking at more than just a chassis purchase, and more a (VAG at least part-owned) Multimatic...?

If we're looking at a 2023 start, its suggests much development, which is true for the engine, so why pick an off the shelf chassis now, unless...….

[Some Gump]

LawrieC said:

If we're looking at a 2023 start, its suggests much development, which is true for the engine, so why pick an off the shelf chassis now, unless...….

Thats the LMDH rule set. It's like current IMSA DPI with mild steroids and a token gesture of a 40kw hybrid. The 4 manufacturers are Oreca, Dallara, Ligier (Onroak) and Multimatic. Budget requirements will be tiny compared to developing something ground up.

For a full ground up Porsche chassis, they'd have to enter LMH, which was originally launched as Hypercar. Those rules are that you have to make either a full on prototype (within a performance, downforce, drag, weight, power etc window), or use a posh road car (Like the Aston Valkyrie, but I think that's been cancelled as a programme).

This Hypercar ruleset wasn't as popular as the ACO wanted so they've moved its design window in a few areas then renamed what was Hypercar as LMH and then called the BOP'd combo of LMDH and LMH Hypercar, as if that removes the glaringly obvious failure of the original Hypercar ruleset and no-one will notice that they've effectively adopted DPi despite saying they'd never do it. I assume this is under the same ACO interpretation of reality that says no OEM naming of cars in LMP2 unless that OEM is French or Gazprom chuck a few quid in a pot.

Google tells me that Resident PH contributor GG did a good article on it that I missed at the time:
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/09/18/lmdh-regu...

..And because I missed it I was baffled by the ACO PRing the Porsche with what feels like the wrong name. I really hope that it all works but when it takes 3 articles for even the excellent Dailysportscar to explain a category to committed fans, what hope is there for attracting and engaging more fans?

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/12/02/endurance...
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/12/15/endurance...

anyways, I'm looking forwards to 2023 when we'll have lots of manufacturers, the ACO will then move a goalpost to make it so that Peugeot should win, and then Peugeot will cock it up yet again whilst we all cheer for whoever our chosen marque is plus the underdogs Glickenhaus and ByKolles =)