Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids

Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids

According to Porsche's head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen, the 918 RSR will be as much a marketing tool as a technological test bed.

"A Porsche is about emotion and passion," he told Inside Line. "We want to get our customers excited about the possibilities provided by hybrid technology. Until now, the Toyota Prius was the hybrid, and we need to change perceptions. In the long term we have to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. This is not just about climate change; it's also about protecting the world's oil reserves."

Porsche is currently developing two hybrids: a Prius-style battery system for use in road cars and a flywheel accumulator solution for racing. The former will be used in the 918 Spyder supercar, which will debut next year. The latter, developed in association with the Williams F1 team, debuted on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and features in the 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. The flywheel allows us to collect more kinetic energy than a battery but you need to keep a pump running to maintain a vacuum in the system if you want to retain the energy, so it's not a good solution for the road."

According to Kristen, the main issue is not how you store the energy, but how you discharge it. "We're trying to learn as much as possible about how you merge two different power systems together. We need to develop the controls and systems to make the best use of the technology. Porsche is not about making components; our core competency is building cars but we need to understand what we need from the components we source."

The 918 RSR is currently a showcar and is not fully functional. Nor would it currently comply with the regulations for any of the major sports car series. "We wanted to excite our customers and to raise the appetite of the regulation makers for changing the rules," says Kristen.

One potential solution would be to introduce a one-make championship for the 911 GT3 R Hybrid or the 918. "The technology is currently too young and expensive," reckons Kristen, "but in the future it might be feasible. It is possible to imagine a Porsche Supercup series being run with hybrid cars."


Porsche 918 RSR To Promote Virtues of Hybrids

Porsche 918 RSR debuts at 2011 NAIAS

Porsche 918 RSR debuts at 2011 NAIAS

After being absent from the Detroit Auto Show for the past four years Porsche has come back with a vengeance unveiling one of the baddest hybrid racecars in existence!

The Porsche 918 RSR has an ultra light weight carbon fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque exterior, minimalistic highly functional interior.... and a flywheel accumulator. What the heck is a flywheel accumulator you may ask? This high tech device is positioned next to the driver's seat and collects energy when the car breaks. This energy can then in turn be converted to a 160 HP burst of speed with the touch of a button! Coupled together with the 563 horsepower V8 engine there are two front wheel drive electric motors powered by the flywheel accumulator that produce an unbelievable total of 767 horsepower!

The flywheel accumulator technology first appeared on Porsche's 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The device gains its charge when the two electric motors on the front axle reverse their function during the braking processes and operate as generators. The driver can then unleash the stored power by simply pressing a button! Now that's hybrid technology put to a good use.

If you can, come down to Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan to get a first had look at the Porsche 918 RSR in person.You can check the photos here too

Porsche 918 RSR debuts at 2011 NAIAS