Porsche Sports Cars 911 GT3 R Hybrid - 2010 New
Porsche Announces 911 GT3 R Hybrid Racecar will run at the American Le Mans Series Finale Petit Le Mans October 2nd at Road Atlanta
ATLANTA, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the impressive performance at the Nurburgring 24-hour race where the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid demonstrated the potential of its groundbreaking technology over 22 hours and 15 minutes, and led the overall classification for more than eight hours, the orange and white liveried 911 racer will now travel to the USA and Asia. Porsche has received an invitation to contest the season final of the American Le Mans Series, the race series featuring the world's fastest sport cars, at the 'Petit Le Mans' at Road Atlanta on October 2. The race runs over a distance of 1,000 miles or a maximum of ten hours. The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will not be eligible for points, as hybrid technology is not yet included in the GT regulations.
For November 7, Porsche then plans to race the 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the season final of the new Le Mans International Cup, the six hour race in Zhuhai, China. Again here, the vehicle is not competing for points.
"After the 911 GT3 R Hybrid's fantastic performance at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, we are now eager to gain more experience with the hybrid technology on a variety of race tracks," says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "At the same time, we would like to show fans and customers in our most important markets how our 'race lab' performs under racing conditions," adds Kristen.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, featuring two electric motors at the front axle each developing 60 kilowatts to supplement the 480 horsepower normally-aspirated rear-engine, expressly typifies the philosophy of "Porsche Intelligent Performance": Under braking, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid converts kinetic energy into electrical energy and stores it in a flywheel. During acceleration, this energy is automatically delivered to the front wheels, supporting the combustion engine. This leads to a reduction in fuel consumption and increases the cruising range. Moreover, drivers can manually utilize the stored energy with a boost-paddle on the steering wheel for overtaking.
The connection between the Porsche 911 and racing is unlike any that exists in the world of sports cars. To Porsche, motorsports is a breeding ground, a mobile laboratory where engineering ideas are tested under the harsh light of competition. The lessons learned on the race track translate directly to Porsche sports car on the road. To see 911 race cars in action on the world's most challenging tracks is to witness Porsche working out the fundamental questions of performance engineering.
What innovations will make a 911 accelerate faster, stop quicker, steer with more accuracy and corner with higher levels of grip? What efficiencies are still to be achieved in the critical areas of fuel consumption? What technologies can be devised to surround the driver with the most advanced safety systems?
So while there are trophies to compete for, and championships to win, we race for a prize far more relevant: the evolution of real-world performance. One place you'll see Porsche proving its engineering theories on the track is in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Founded in 1999, ALMS is an endurance racing series that has established itself as a vital forum for developing new technologies and transferring them to the street. It has established itself as the most important race series for GT sports cars and prototypes in North America.
Porsche customer teams have more than 100 class wins in the ALMS. And for nine of the 11 years of ALMS' existence, Porsche has earned the GT/GT2 manufacturers title in the ALMS—all with the Porsche 911 GT3 R/RS/RSR family of race cars. Since the 2006 season, Porsche has also been lining up on the starting grid with a prototype in the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) class: the RS Spyder. In winning the LMP2 manufacturers', drivers' and team championships in 2006, Porsche made an impressive return to prototype racing.
Since 2008, more customer teams have taken their place on the starting grid in the RS Spyder, not only in the ALMS, but also in the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour race. In 2010, RS Spyder continues to write Porsche's story of success in motorsport. With such a commitment to the proving grounds of motorsports, it's not far from the finish line to the Porsche assembly line. The race-ready street versions of the 911 like the GT3 RS are made within the same assembly facilities as all other 911 models.
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga., is the exclusive importer of Porsche vehicles for the United States. PCNA is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Dr. Ing.h.c. F. Porsche AG. It employs 213 people who provide Porsche vehicles, parts, service, marketing and training for its 199 dealers. The dealers, in turn, provide Porsche owners with best-in-class service. Throughout its more than six-decade history, Porsche has developed numerous technologies that have advanced vehicle performance, improved safety and spurred environmental innovations within the automotive industry. The company continues to celebrate its heritage by adding to its long list of motorsports victories dating back to its first 24 Hours of Le Mans class win in 1951. Today, with more than 28,000 victories, Porsche is recognized as the world's most successful brand in sports car racing. PCNA, which imports the iconic 911 series, the highly acclaimed Boxster and Cayman mid-engine sports cars, high-end Cayenne sport utility vehicles and the four-door Panamera Gran Turismos, strives to maintain a standard of excellence, commitment and distinction synonymous with its brand
Known as the 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, the model hints at new hybrid technology that Porsche Sports Cars will use in its motorsport ventures. According to Porsche, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be used as a study to gather information about how hybrid drive will behave under a racing environment and will also help the German automaker study how it can be applied to its road cars.
During Porsche's press conference here at the Geneva Motor Show, most of our attention was understandably on the 918 Spyder Concept, but the German automaker had several other significant debuts. One was the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, Porsche's first race car to feature electric power sourced from a duo of motors that send power to a generator attached the flywheel. Like many hybrid production cars, the motors are charged whenever the brakes are applied, and the driver can use the extra power for 6-8 seconds for overtaking.
Exactly 110 years after Ferdinand Porsche developed the world's first car with hybrid drive, the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is once again taking up this visionary drive concept in production-based GT racing: During the Geneva Motor Show, a Porsche Sports Cars 911 GT3 R with innovative hybrid drive is making its debut, opening up a new chapter in the history of Porsche with more than 20,000 wins in 45 years scored by the extremely successful Porsche 911 in racing trim.
Unlike a conventional battery-electric hybrid system the Porsche 911 GT3 R uses a flywheel system, which gathers kinetic energy under braking to power two electric-motors that are mounted in a single assembly and are connected to the front wheel. After each boost of charge, the two motors provide 6 to 8 second jolts of power. The extra power is engaged by pressing a button on the steering wheel, providing up to 161-hp to the front wheels, assisting the 911 GT3 R Hybrid’s 480-hp 4.0L inline-6 that powers the two rear-wheels.
The innovative hybrid technology featured in the car has been developed especially for racing, standing out significantly in its configuration and components from conventional hybrid systems. In this case, electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW each supplements the 480-bhp four-litre flat-six at the rear of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. A further significant point is that instead of the usual batteries in a hybrid road car, an electrical flywheel power generator fitted in the interior next to the driver delivers energy to the electric motors.
The flywheel generator itself is an electric motor with its rotor spinning at speeds of up to 40,000 rpm, storing energy mechanically as rotation energy. The flywheel generator is charged whenever the driver applies the brakes, with the two electric motors reversing their function on the front axle and acting themselves as generators. Then, whenever necessary, that is when accelerating out of a bend or when overtaking, the driver is able to call up extra energy from the charged flywheel generator, the flywheel being slowed down electromagnetically in the generator mode and thus supplying up to 120 kW to the two electric motors at the front from its kinetic energy.
This additional power is available to the driver after each charge process for approximately 6 - 8 seconds. Energy formerly converted - and thus wasted - into heat upon every application of the brakes, is now highly efficiently converted into additional drive power.
Depending on racing conditions, hybrid drive is used in this case not only for extra power, but also to save fuel. This again increases the efficiency and, accordingly, the performance of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, for example by reducing the weight of the tank or making pitstops less frequent.
After its debut in Geneva the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be tested in long-distance races on the Nürburgring. The highlight of this test programme will be the 24 Hours on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring on May 15th and 16th. The focus is not on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid winning the race, but rather serving as a spearhead in technology and a 'racing laboratory' providing know-how on the subsequent use of hybrid technology in road-going sports cars.
The 911 GT3 R Hybrid is a perfect example of the Porsche Intelligent Performance philosophy, a principle to be found in every Porsche: More power on less fuel, more efficiency and lower CO2 emissions - on the track and on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment