New car news

11 February 2010 - 12:00

911 racer goes hybrid

It has happened. The Porsche 911 GT3 racer - that bastion of lightweight, no frills minimalism - has gone hybrid.

This is the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, a track-only racer that's not the work of some aftermarket race team but Porsche itself.

It will compete in the Nurburgring 24-hour race in May - not with the intention of winning the race, says Porsche, but instead as a ‘racing laboratory' to discover how a hybrid drivetrain can cope with a full day pounding round the ‘Ring.

So how does it work? Well, driving the rear wheels is a familiar-sounding 353kW, 4.0-litre flat six, but it's up front that you'll find all the newness. The front axle is driven by a pair of electric motors, each of which produces the equivalent of 60kW.

Unlike most road-going hybrids which draw their energy from battery packs, the motors are powered by an electric flywheel - similar to the KERS technology found in F1 cars - which spins up to 40,000rpm. It ‘charges' under heavy braking, and stores energy kinetically. This power is available to the driver in a six-to-eight-second burst after each recharge.

Porsche says the hybrid's four-wheel-drive system gives it better grip than the standard GT3 R, while its improved economy could prove vital in endurance racing.

What do you reckon? Are hybrids the future of distance racing, or will light weight always win out?