With less than three weeks left until the green flag drops for the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans,->ke1591 Porsche->ke1 has unveiled the liveries of the three 919 Hybrids->ke4873 set to compete in the LMP1 class. Unlike last year's race, where Porsche fielded cars painted in the same colors, this year's event will bring three 919s with distinct liveries on the starting grid.

While the No. 19 car driven by Earl Bamber, Nico Hulkenberg, and Nick Tandy will use the same colors Porsche chose for its big return in 2014, the others will sport red and black liveries.

The red No. 17 car focuses on Stuttgart's tradition at Le Mans and pays tribute to the 917 KH model that brought Porsche its first win on Circuit de la Sarthe in 1970. The "Salzburg Design," short-tail 917 was also finished in red with white stripes. The No. 17 919 will be shared by Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Mark Webber on the track.

The third car comes wrapped in black and white stripes in a nod to the road-going 918 Spyder->ke3629 and the technology the 2015 919 Hybrid shares with it. The race car->ke148 is also an homage to the black 918 that set a new record for production cars at the Nurburgring Nordschleife->ke999 in September 2013. This 919, wearing No. 18, will be driven by Marc Lieb, the man who drove the 918 to its record lap, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

As the manufacturer that holds the record for the most 24 Hours of Le Mans wins -- 16 between 1970 and 1998 -- Porsche has plenty of reasons to use just about any event at Circuit de la Sarthe to celebrate its rich motorsport->ke447 heritage. I find the red No. 17 car to be the most appealing of them all, but that's mostly because I'm a big fan of 1960s and 1970s racing, Le Mans-related or not. And while the No. 17 car is a blast from the past, the black No. 18 racer brings forth one of Porsche's most recent achievements. Seems about right for a company that's looking to win the 24 Hours of a Le Mans for the 17th time.

Porsche 919 Hybrid

Find out more about the Porsche 919 Hybrid in our review here.