Porsche, Martini Racing pay homage to Le Mans with limited edition 911

Porsche is getting serious about its Le Mans 24 Hours return, and to flag the occasion, the German marque has released a road-going beautified “Martini Racing Edition” 911 Carrera S.

This weekend will mark the Stuttgart-based company’s first participation in the legendary race for over a decade and which will see it competing with Audi and Toyota for top honours. It will however be using the Porsche 919 Hybrid, while the Martini Racing Edition 911 will be for public enjoyment. Martini has been a regular motorsport sponsor in all racing series since the early 1960s.

The car’s coat is reminiscent of the current Williams Formula 1 cars and Porsche’s legendary cars of the 1970s, but it looks as sleek now as it did nearly 45 years ago. The 80 limited edition monochrome cars are available with Martini’s traditional red, white and blue racing stripe decor and a sportier aerodynamic package. Rounding up the custom aesthetics is a red Martini Racing Edition badge, in case passers by miss the obvious racing branding.

As far as the performance goes, it’s a bog standard 911 Carrera S with a pretty dress. The 3.8-litre flat-six cylinder engine churns out 400 horsepower, enough to get from 0 to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds.

Porsche interestingly, instead of stripping the interior as it does with most race-orientated editions to save weight, has also fitted the Martini 911 with its Communication Management (PCM) and navigation module, a Bose-tweaked sound system and fully electric sport seats. This car may look prettier than its standard brother but it’s probably a bit paunchier too.

The car will be available to a European audience from June, while China, Japan and Latin America will have to wait until August and October, respectively. There’s no word on the model’s availability in other markets. The Le Mans 24 Hours, however, takes place this weekend at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France.