Porsche Reveals Special Liveries for GTE-Pro Swan Song

Porsche’s GTE-Pro cars will enter next weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain with special liveries commemorating the final race for the factory GTE program.

The one-off designs for the German company’s Manthey-run Porsche 911 RSR-19s include details of previous special liveries and a ‘Goodbye’ message above the windshield.

The long-running GTE-Pro class is coming to an end after the current WEC campaign as protagonists Porsche and Ferrari move to Hypercar with their new hybrid prototypes.

Red, blue, pink, black, gold and gray stripes nod to past successes for the Porsche GTE-Pro operation including the famous ‘pink pig’ design that won the GTE-Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 and the Rothmans-inspired scheme from the same year.

The 16 GTE-Pro race wins achieved by the team since 2013 are mentioned, while the names of all drivers who have raced for the program are printed on the roof.

“Our racing cars will be truly eye-catching at the final round of the FIA WEC,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport.

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the fans react.

“The GTE-Pro class of the World Endurance Championship will be phased out at the end of the 2022 season. So, this will be the swan song event with the works team’s 911 RSR.

“For this very special occasion, our designers have created a foil wrap that, in my opinion, wonderfully represents the history and successes of the last decade.

“And the icing on the cake will come in Bahrain: We’re aiming to win the race as well as the manufacturer’s and driver’s titles.”

Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen will share the No. 92 Porsche in the 8 Hours of Bahrain, while Le Mans winners Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz are in the No. 91.

Both lineups include drivers with a chance to secure the world title, however Ferrari’s James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi lead the championship standings.

“The season finale in Bahrain evokes a lot of emotion for the whole team,” said Alexander Stehlig, Porsche’s director of factory motorsport for WEC.

“In recent, years, the mechanics, engineers and drivers have experienced many highlights in the GTE-Pro class.

“Our Porsche 911 RSR was always one of the most distinctive, popular and successful racing cars in the fiercely contested manufacturer team category.

“As this great program comes to an end, we’d like to add another highlight – in both a sporting and optical sense. I think we’ve created the perfect design. It is the ideal combination of modern styles and historic colors.”

Porsche 911 RSR-19s will continue to compete in the GTE-Am class next year with private teams.