TOKYO (July 24,2007) - For the past two years, endurance motorsports has been dominated by diesel powerplants, most notable the Audi R10 on the Le Mans circuit. That may be about to change, due to a recent win in the 24-hour Tokashi Race by Toyota's
MOTORSPORTS Hybrid Wins 24-Hour Endurance Race
TOKYO (July 24,2007) - For the past two years, endurance motorsports has been dominated by diesel
powerplants, most notable the Audi R10 on the Le Mans circuit. That may be about to change, due to a recent win in the 24-hour Tokashi Race by Toyota's Supra
HV-R hybrid-electric racecar - marking the first time that a hybrid has won such an event. The 2,380-pound Supra, which is based on the Supra GT raced in the japanese Super GT Series, completed 616 laps in the 24 hours-19 more than the second place finisher.
Toyota's Supra HV-R is the first
hybrid to win a motorsports event. (Photo: Toyota)
The Supra HV-R features include technology that distinguishes it from other racing
powertrains. The racecar utilizes a four-wheel energy regeneration and drive system, which includes 10 kW in-wheel motors in the front wheels, one 150 kW rear-axle mounted electric motor and integrated fast-charging ultracapacitors to
provide exceptional energy storage for the vehicle that can be used to
capture energy when decelerating and then re-deploy that energy to boost
acceleration.
The hybrid racecar commands 700 brake horsepower (bhp), with 473 bhp
coming from its 4.5L motor and an added 227 bhp from from the electric
motors. More importantly, its electric motors and ultracapacitors provide
the ability to measure and modify increased torque thousands of times per
wheel per second and deliver that torque where needed during racing,
making the car far more controllable than a other racecars.
Toyota can be expected to build on its position at the forefront of hybrid
race machine development given the massive investment it is making in the
technology in its road cars. Toyota engineers hope to discover ways to
make hybrid systems, most famously fitted to the Toyota Prius production
car, more efficient and lighter.
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