2010 Geneva Auto Show: Porsche's Flywheel-Hybrid 911 GT3 R
By John O'Dell February 10, 2010
Well, it is a hybrid, even if not the kind most of us will ever drive.
Porsche says it has added a flywheel-based hybrid system to its 911 GT3 R racing machine to turn it into a hybrid that gets tons of extra boost from a pair of electric motors linked to the front wheels.
The 40,000 rpm flywheel, (they call it a kinetic energy recovery systyem, or KERS, in Formula 1 racing), stores energy generated by braking and releases it in short bursts of 6-8 seconds each when demanded by the driver.
That might not sound like a lot, but the motors (#2 in illustration below) are rated at a combined 161 horsepower. Added to the 480 hp supercharged flat-six gas engine driving the 911 GT3 R's rear wheels, the flywheel (#4, below) provides loads of extra acceleration for passing or powering out of corners.
There's also, we hear, a little bit of fuel economy improvement to be had.
Porsche calls the hybrid racer a rolling laboratory that will help both with its racing program and with its plan to begin adding gas-electric hybrid systems to some of its road cars, starting with the upcoming 2011 Cayenne Hybrid.
You can read more about the GT3 R at Inside Line.
PS: Porsche last month confirmed that it would build a hybrid sports car but said it wouldn't be a 911 (it'll be the Panamera). That's not inconsistent as the 911 GT3 R isn't anyone's idea of a road-going sports car.
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