2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid
The future of Porsche is, apparently, electric. And we thought it was SUVs (sport-utility vehicles like the Cayenne) and hatchbacks (the Panamera).
Case in point: last weekend, Porsche went racing with its Porsche GT3 R Hybrid for the first time in North America. The venue was the 2010 Petit Le Mans where the car ran in its own experimental class.
The 911 GT3 R Hybrid is what you'd call a "mild hybrid," which means it cannot run solely on electrical power. To provide an electric boost, something called a KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) comes into play. What you have here is a flywheel generator and regenerative braking system to power two electric motors mounted at the front of this rear-engined vehicle.
Porsche calls the system Intelligent Performance. Of course.
Evidence of Porsche's increasing reliance on the Volkswagen Group, which now controls Porsche, was also in evidence during the race. Driving the GT3 R Hybrid were Le Mans winners Timo Bernhard (Germany), Romain Dumas (France) and Mike Rockenfeller (Germany). They won in an Audi, another VW brand.
Porsche has all sorts of production hybrids coming to market in the next year, including the Cayenne hybrid. Porsche said in July that it was planning commercial production of a new plug-in hybrid, the 918 Spyder. It will, we're told, deliver blistering acceleration yet get 78 miles per gallon if you drive it like a VW Bug.
Of course, the car will probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it begs the question, why bother? If you only get great fuel economy when put-putting around, what's the point? Lots of reasons, say Porsche officials. Electric motors deliver fantastic torque; they are great in performance cars, green issues aside. And Porsche is all about performance.
Porsche types keep saying the electric technology will eventually find its way into less expensive models, so the price will come down over time. In fact, Porsche is also experimenting with a prototype battery-powered Boxster.
Now to validate all of this, Porsche has started to race electrified vehicles. That explains the GT3 R Hybrid. Click here to watch the race recap video of the GT3 R Hybrid.