Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 : Test run under race conditions on the Nürburgring

2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

STUTTGART : April 28, 2011 - The development of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 is running at full revs. This coming Saturday, the further-developed version of the innovative Hybrid race car contests round two of the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship (VLN). Another test under race conditions is planned at the fourth VLN round on 28 May.

At the race debut of the modified version of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid on 30th April, Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Marco Holzer (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) share driving duties in the orange and white ‘race lab’. At the second race meeting in late May, Holzer and Long join forces with Richard Lietz (Austria) to pilot the Hybrid-911.

Priority in the further development over winter was placed on increasing efficiency. For this, the weight of the vehicle, including the hybrid components, was reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms. The weight of these components was reduced by 20 percent through targeted optimisation. The general hybrid layout was adopted from the 2010 model.

The output of both electric motors in the portal axle increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. For seconds at a time, pilots now have about 200 hp more at their disposal with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0, which equals ca. 23 kW (32 hp) of additional conventional power per Nordschleife lap. Depending on the programming, this electrical power is automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal. Moreover, the hybrid pilots can manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking.

The electric flywheel accumulator, with its rotor spinning up to 40,000 rpm and storing energy mechanically as rotational energy, is now housed with the other hybrid components in a carbon-fibre safety cell on the passenger’s side.

With the portal axle driving the front wheels, the four-litre, now 465 hp six-cylinder boxer engine, which drives the rear axle, was reduced in power and optimised with respect to fuel consumption.

“We’ve made huge strides forward with the further-developed 911 GT3 R Hybrid. But testing under race conditions gives us additional information that is not easy to collect during a simulation,” says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “We’ll use the information gained from the VLN races to make our racing lab even more reliable and economical.”

Images : 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

[Source : PORSCHE]