Skip advert
Advertisement

See the Porsche 919 Hybrid drive through the streets of London

Mark Webber drives the Porsche 919 Hybrid through the city

Porsche works driver Mark Webber took to the streets of London this morning to give the 919 Hybrid an unusual run out ahead of the next round of the 2016 Championship by driving around the streets of London.

Completing two runs of a four-mile course, the reigning FIA WEC Champion driver set off from Park Lane, along Piccadilly and around Piccadilly Circus, through Trafalgar Square, on to Charing Cross, along the Embankment, took in a quick lap of Parliament Square before crossing Westminster Bridge, rounding Waterloo and back again. All before 7am and without closing any of the capital’s roads.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Why, you may ask, go to such lengths when they UK round of the FIA World Championship isn’t until April? Because following closely behind was a new Panamera S E-Hybrid, the latest edition to the new Panamera line up that announced a couple of weeks ago. It’s all about the technology transfer from race car to road car, you see.

This is not the first time a race car has run on the streets of the London. In 2004 the F1 circus came to the capital when Berne Eccelstone put his perennial squeeze on Silverstone, by toadying up to then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone to suggest a London Grand Prix could be possible. The result was an evening demo of F1 cars driving along Regent Street and down The Mall in a pre-arranged publicity stunt. In 2010, Red Bull carried out a pit stop in Parliament Square with then current driver Mark Webber…

But there was something quite cool about Porsche’s run this morning. Notification of the event taking place was given at 10pm on Monday night. At 3am the 919 was in place on Park Lane and fired up and put through a its warm up. At 5am the eight Police outriders that would cut a path through London for Webber to follow were briefed and at just after 6am the 919 was off into the morning darkness.

It may have been brief. It may not have been at over 200mph, but watching an LMP1 car sweep through Trafalgar Square with a smattering of bemused commuters, taxi drivers and white van drivers was way cooler than watching F1’s over produced event a decade earlier.

Three races remains of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. The Six Hours of Fuji us held on the 16 October, before heading to Shanghai on 6 November and the season finale in Brazil on 19 November.

Porsche currently leads the manufacturer championship ahead of Audi and Toyota, with Porsche drivers Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas heading the driver standings. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Porsche 984 Junior – dead on arrival
Porsche 984 Junior
Features

Porsche 984 Junior – dead on arrival

This miniature marvel could have seen Porsche enter the ’90s with a truly affordable entry-level sports car
11 Jan 2024
Why Rennsport Reunion is the world's best Porsche gathering
Rennsport Reunion 2023
Features

Why Rennsport Reunion is the world's best Porsche gathering

It’s the world’s greatest gathering of racing Porsches. We join the legions of fans – and the legendary drivers and engineers – at Laguna Seca for the…
3 Dec 2023
Kamm 912c 2023 review – the £274,000 four-cylinder Porsche 911
Kamm 912c
Reviews

Kamm 912c 2023 review – the £274,000 four-cylinder Porsche 911

The flat-four Porsche 912 was once seen as the 911’s poor relation. Budapest-based firm Kamm aims to unlock its ultimate potential
10 Oct 2023
New Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport: the race car that you can't race
Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport
News

New Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport: the race car that you can't race

Taking Porsche’s latest GT3 race car as a base, the Rennsport is a derestricted, fully uncorked track car destined for 77 customers
5 Oct 2023
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The Nissan GT-R has been updated yet again for 2025
Nissan GT-R 2025 – front
News

The Nissan GT-R has been updated yet again for 2025

The R35 Nissan GT-R refuses to die – this latest version gets engine enhancements and subtle cosmetic tweaks
15 Mar 2024
MST Mk1 2024 review – £174,000 Ford Escort recreation driven
MST Mk1 Ford Escort
Reviews

MST Mk1 2024 review – £174,000 Ford Escort recreation driven

The MST Mk1 is a brand new, 50-year-old, road-going rally car. It looks the business, but does it deliver? Strap yourself in…
15 Mar 2024
Used car deals of the week
Main used car deals
Advice

Used car deals of the week

In this week's used car deals, we've sourced everything from the TVR Tuscan to the CLS63 Shooting Brake
15 Mar 2024