Porsche teases LMDh racer ahead of FIA World Endurance Championship

Last weekend the German sports car giant Porsche teased an early look of its hyped Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) prototype racer that will serve as a top category for both the IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship starting from 2023. 

Porsche will join its LMDh racer in both the WEC and SportsCar championships and intends to keep it prepared for the 2023 season, at the point where they're expected to be contenders lining up on the grid from BMW, Cadillac, and Audi as well. At the same time, Alpine intends to join the LMDh group in 2024.

Teaser prints for the car display a layout parallel to Porsche's thriving 919 Hybrid sports prototype that contested in the previous LMP1 category of the WEC. Further, the car borrows a few design elements from Porsche's road cars, too, like the swan neck strut (only the center) for the dual-plane rear wing and the  LED strip for the tail lights. 

In streak with LMDh controls, Porsche will use a chassis procured from Canada's Multimatic, one of four establishments furnishing chassis for the category. The car will pitch the scales at roughly 2,200 pounds and yield approximately 680 hp from a hybrid powertrain.

Porsche intends to operate its LMDh drive with SportsCar championships and America's Team Penske in the WEC as well. The unit will be established out of Penske's headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina, the exact location where Penske manages its NASCAR and IndyCar campaigns.

The squad will race under the Porsche Penske Motorsports banner, and the preferably ascertained drivers are successful SportsCar Championship drivers Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron.

It is worth noting, LMDh isn't a substitute for the Le Mans Hypercars class which also operates as a leading category of the WEC. The ratio of enactment rules will assist in leveling the playing area between the two categories. Automakers dedicated to LMH include Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Ferrari, and Toyota.

Porsche's LMDh racer is set to start testing in 2022. The very first LMDh race will be the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, the starting game of the 2023 SportsCar Championship.

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