Porsche recalls 917 legacy by naming new LMP1 racer the 919 hybrid

The name also gives next year's World Endurance Championship racer a synergy with its 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar, which is about to go into production.

Porsche research and development boss Wolfgang Hatz, the board member responsible for motorsport, said: "The vehicle name 919 hybrid follows on from the tradition of the Le Mans-winning 917, but it is also with a view to the 918 Spyder and also acknowledges the company's embarkation into the hybrid future."

Porsche briefly showed the 919 at its Night of Champions event in Germany on Saturday night, but did not reveal technical details.

That means it has yet to confirm the configuration of petrol-powered turbo engine in the car, which is understood to be a V4.

It has already confirmed that one of the 919's two hybrid systems is an exhaust-driven Motor Generator Unit Heat system akin to those that will be used in Formula 1 next year.

The car remained in the camouflage livery in which it has been testing since June.

Porsche said the car had made real progress during the final day of testing at the Algarve circuit at the beginning of last week, when Mark Webber got his first taste of the Porsche P1.