The modelcar-label Ixo presented the miniatures of the Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo in scale 1:43 as well as in format 1:18, with which Timo Bernhard completed to Nordschleife of the Nürburgring in 5:19.55 minutes on June 29th, 2018. With this, Bernhard, the five-time overall winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring, two time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and two time endurance world champion - could beat the 35-year track record set by the unforgotten Giessener Stefan Bellof by 51.58 seconds. The avowed Bellof fan used a Porsche 919 that had been freed from all restrictions of the regulations to top his record of 6:11.13 minutes from the final training session for the ADAC 1000 kilometers from the Nürburgring on May 28th, 1983. The two models from Ixo are a reminder of this.
Stefan Bellof mastered the distance of 20.832 kilometers in the final training for the 1000 kilometer race from 1983 with an average speed of 202 kph; Bernhard with 233.8 kph. The Evo version of the Porsche 919 Hybrid is based on the overall Le Mans winner and WEC endurance world champion from 2015, 2016 and 2017. As mentioned at the beginning, it was released from some regulatory restrictions; their hybrid drive train generates a system output of 853 kW / 1,160 hp. The Evo weighs only 849 kilograms and its modified, active aerodynamics generate over 50 percent more downforce compared to the WEC model. The top speed at the Nürburgring was 369.4 kilometers per hour. The two diecast modelcars from Ixo perfectly replicate this visually revised Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo.
As expected from Ixo, the miniatures match the lines and appearance of the model down to the smallest detail. They are available in 1:43 under the item number IXOSP919-4321; in 1:18 under the IXOSP919-1821. After reaching the record, Timo Bernhard proudly climbed out of the tight cockpit of the Le Mans prototype, relieved. "This is a great moment for me and for the whole team. The peak of the 919 program! The Evo was perfectly prepared and I gave everything on this lap. Due to the aerodynamic downforce, passages go at full throttle where I can I was really familiar with the Nordschleife. But today I got to know it again", says the 37-year-old from Bruchmühlbach-Miesau: "My respect for Bellof's performance with the technology of that time has even increased again today."