Porsche Unveils New Safety Car

Porsche has unveiled the new FIA World Endurance Championship safety cars that will debut in Friday’s 1000 Miles of Sebring season opener.

The new cars, based on the 911 Turbo S (Type 992), will be driven by Pedro Courceiro and four-time Le Mans winner Yannick Dalmas.

The cars sprint from zero to 62 mph in 2.7 seconds, reach a top speed of 205 mph and have undergone numerous modifications by Manthey, including data and transmission technology, a lighting signal system and a pair of additional monitors in the cockpit.

“The large LED element on the roof flashes amber when the safety car is operating. If necessary, we can switch the middle section to green,” said Manthey’s Adam Kot, who is responsible for running and operating the cars.

When the light is switched to green, this indicates that the cars behind may overtake until the leading car in the race has caught up to the safety car.

The controls for the lights are located in the front luggage compartment, along with the radio connection to race control including the power supply for the marshaling system.

“Compared to the road-going models, new switches have been installed in the center console, as well as a red radio button on the steering wheel, a roll bar and two bucket racing seats with six-point safety belts,” added Kot.

Two cars will attend each round of the WEC calendar, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being a notable exception.

There, three additional cars will be prepared by Manthey as multiple cars take to the track at once under safety car conditions.

“Supplying the safety cars is one aspect of our trusting collaboration with the FIA WEC organization and the Le Mans organizers ACO,” said Alexander Stehlig, Porsche’s director of factory motorsport for WEC.

“We’re delighted that from this year we’ll witness the extremely powerful and fast 911 Turbo S in action for incidents out on the track.”