As a "Top Gear" host, Chris Harris gets to drive a lot of really cool cars. The Porsche 919 Hybrid is on another level.
Harris recently climbed behind the wheel of the Le Mans-winning race car, and aside from it being mind-blowingly fast, it apparently requires a lot of work to unlock the car's performance. As we see, Harris was first required to practice driving the car in the virtual world. What looks like the world's coolest race simulator is actually grueling. Harris says in the video that it's hot, the screen screws with his eyes, and the momentum and various feelings of the road car are transferred eerily well. At one point, he says he'd rather drink a glass of spoiled milk than crawl back into the simulator.
2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car
In the actual car, it's just as much work, but Harris is up to the task. After climbing in and getting situated, he sets off to unleash the 1,000 horsepower available. Porsche's system sees 500 hp come from the 2.0-liter turbocharged V-4 engine, while the other half of its power comes from an electric motor and battery. The latter powers the front wheels and the engine powers the rear wheels. It's one way to do all-wheel drive, apparently.
Harris says the power and thrust from the electric motor is mesmerizing as he pushes his foot in for more acceleration on the straightaway. He adds that 185 mph comes easily for the 919 Hybrid and he barely tried, the car could go further. The immense force also began to vibrate the windshield, which made it slightly difficult to see out. See, kids, race car drivers don't simply get to drive cool cars. It's a lot work.
Take a look a Harris' experience in the video above. As for the 919 Hybrid, the Le Mans-winning car resides at the Porsche Museum these days after the company pulled out of the LMP1 class to focus on Formula E.