Porsche 918 RSR Hybrid Racer in Detroit Auto Show
Porsche have unveiled their 918 Hybrid Racer in Detroit. The Porsche 918 is built on the same base platform as the 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car that saw significant racing successes in 2010, it also uses the same flux-capacitor/electromagnetic flywheel (shown above).Formula 1 will be using the same KERS flywheel (kinetic energy recovery system) in the upcoming 2011 season, interestingly the Porsche flywheel was developed by the Williams F1 team, Williams used KERS in their 2009 F1 car along with a few of the other big name teams.
According to Porsche's head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, the Porsche 918 RSR will be as much a marketing tool as a technological test bed.
"We want to get our customers excited about the possibilities provided by hybrid technology. Porsche is currently developing two hybrids: a Prius-style battery system for use in road cars and a flywheel accumulator solution for racing. The latter, developed in association with the Williams F1 team, debuted on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and features in the Porsche 918 RSR.
"A flywheel solution works in a racecar because of the highly dynamic driving conditions," says Kristen. "You're collecting and discharging energy in fractions of a second. "We wanted to excite our customers and to raise the appetite of the regulation makers for changing the rules," says Kristen.
It is possible to imagine a Porsche Supercup series being run with hybrid cars."
Porsche, who haven’t attended that past few Detroit Auto Shows, chose 2011 to return. Maybe taking a page from Mercedes-Benz at last year’s NY auto show, Porsche debuted a gorgeous race car concept called the Porsche 918 RSR. From a design perspective, the 918 RSR merges somewhat familiar ques from the Porsche 918 Spyder and the 911 GT3 R Hybird. The designers wisely translated elements from iconic Porsche race cars like the 908 long-tail coupé (1969) and the 917 short-tail coupé (1971). The electric motors in the front get power from a flywheel which generates electricity under braking. It captured the EyesOn Design Award for Best Concept Vehicle. The award is given out by a jury of top automotive design professionals and educators from transportation design programs.
