Porsche’s 2017 LMP1 challenger breaks cover

Spy shots of the 2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid – with which the German marque is set to campaign this year's World Endurance Championship season – have emerged today.

The car, which is set to be officially launched next week at the FIA WEC's Prologue test at Monza, completed a single lap on the tail end of a GT test at the Paul Ricard test circuit in the south of France.

In terms of looks, the differences are immediately noticeable with a larger front fender, headlights and reworked sidepods. It is not yet clear which aero configuration the car pictured is running.

This is compared to the 2016 car:

This season the team will race with a pair of 919 Hybrids for the full season, including the Le Mans 24 Hours with a refreshed driver squad. Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber return to the LMP1 cockpit for the first time since winning Le Mans in 2015, while Andre Lotterer moves to the team from the now defunct Audi Sport LMP1 effort.

The FIA WEC Prologue test is set to take place April 1-2, where Toyota's new-for-2017 TS050 LMP1 racer will also be officially unveiled on Friday.