Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid: Two 60 kW motors; electrical flywheel, no batteries

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid racing technology uses electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW driven by a flywheel that takes its energy from braking.

February 28, 2010

Porsche racing hybrid technology uses electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW each supplements the 480-bhp four-liter flat-six cylinder engine at the rear of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid has two 60 kW motors driven by an electrical flywheel, not batteries.

Other design attributes include the following.

– 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.
– Rotor of the flywheel generator (an electric motor) spins at 40,000 rpm, storing energy mechanically as rotation energy. Brakes, instead of wasting energy in heat, charge the flywheel generator as the two electric motors reverse function on the front axle and serve as generators.
– Acceleration transfers kinetic energy stored in the flywheel into up to 120 kW for the two electric motors. Each charge process delivers approximately 6 – 8 seconds of electric power.
Porsche says 110 years years ago Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first car with hybrid drive, the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has developed the hybrid drive for production-based GT racing. At the Geneva Motor Show, a Porsche 911 GT3 R with a hybrid drive made its debut. Porsche says it has more than 20,000 wins in 45 years, with the Porsche 911 in racing trim. The car will be tested in long-distance races on the Nürburgring, including 24 hours on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring, May 15-16. Also at the Geneva show, Porsche unveiled 918 Spyder hybrid sports car concept .

Learn more from Porsche: www.porsche.com/usa/eventsandracing/motorsport/news/?pool=motorsport&id=de3114a7-3347-4921-b0cc-cec4ba374d3d〈=en

Also read from Control Engineering :
– Hybrid power: Volvo Powertrain awards Danaher Motion contract to develop hybrid heavy-duty vehicles ;
– Direct- Drive Linear Motion Lives! and
– Flywheel: Energy storage gains velocity .

– Mark T. Hoske, editor in chief, Control Engineering , www.controleng.com.