911 racer goes hybrid

Porsche charges up its petrol-electric 911 GT3 for the Nurburgring 24 Hours. How do you think it’ll do?

Posted by: Sam Philip, 11 February 2010

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911 racer goes hybrid

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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 473bhp, 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 80bhp.

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?

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What do you think?

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AshHorne commented on this article

at 12:23 pm on 11 February 2010

I think both. It really depends on how far they can develop this hybrid technology. If they can get the refueling and time in pits down to an absolute minimum, then surely a little sacrifice weight-wise is worth it? But then you have to consider the fact that even if it's fueled by perpetual energy and never has to refuel ever again, it would still have to pit for tyres. I think they cancel each other out. The time you save from not refueling is added on to your lap times due to the extra weight.

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James67 commented on this article

at 12:45 pm on 11 February 2010

I'm not really a fan of hybrids but I think using a flywheel rather than batteries makes much more sense and probably isn't quite as heavy. I'd still prefer a lighweight, petrol powered racer but for endurance this might be quite a good idea.

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enzo/indo commented on this article

at 01:00 pm on 11 February 2010

no one should forget that if the hybrid goes into racing it s gonna evolve quicker, there is the problem of weight of cours but same the nano tec might coming handy in the futur battery are going to be light and powerful some day we re going to have to get out of our old internal combustion engine tech

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iRussia commented on this article

at 02:20 pm on 11 February 2010

Why should racecars be Eco-Friendly? They dont drive around everyday like normal cars... Besides, no CO2 probally even gets to the Ozone Layer because of all the Fans in the audience.

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Sambawacki commented on this article

at 02:24 pm on 11 February 2010

Sounds like a good thought, but maybe they should've done more in terms of hybridness, they should have made the engine more hybriddy-put electric motors in it. etc... I agree with iRussia, why should race cars be hybrid?

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