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American LeMans
GT: Porsche Unveils 918 RSR
Could Porsche's latest hybrid be set for an attack at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?...
John Dagys  |  Posted January 10, 2011   Chicago, IL
Porsche's new 918 RSR, unveiled Monday at the North American International Auto Show, is the German brand's latest hybrid creation. (Image: Porsche)
With success of its 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which made its mark on three international endurance races in 2010, Porsche has decided to take its cutting-edge technology one step further.

The German automaker unveiled its 918 RSR on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, confirming intentions of taking the new mid-engined supercar into sportscar racing competition.

PHOTOS: Porsche 918 RSR

Derived from the 918 Spyder and Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Petit Le Mans and Zhuhai 1000km last year as an unclassified entry, the 918 RSR is Porsche’s latest gasoline-electric car from its racing laboratory.

Producing 563 hp from its mid-mounted 3.4-liter direct-injected V8, developed from the ultra-successful RS Spyder, Porsche claims an additional 204 hp can be generated thanks to its pair of electric motors mounted on the front wheels. That adds up to a potential of 767 hp under peak drive power.
Could Porsche's 918 RSR mount an attack on the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future? (Photo: Getty Images)

The 918 RSR employs the same energy recovery and regeneration system as the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, with kinetic energy from the car’s braking being stored and transferred through a flywheel that rotates up to 36,000 rpm. Two 75 kW electric motors deploy the recuperated energy, making for significant performance gains.

It can also lead to improved efficiency, as seen with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid during its three endurance racing outings in 2010. Drivers Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long finished an impressive sixth overall in the Zhuhai 1000km, outpacing the entire GT2 field, thanks to making two fewer stops over the course of the six-hour race.

Additionally, the 918 RSR pays homage to its endurance racing roots in more ways than one. While not considered a direct successor to the record-setting 917, which dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1970s, Porsche has taken many styling cues from the short-tail coupe which held the distance record at Le Mans for 39 years up until last year’s win by Audi.

While Porsche has laid out its intentions for the 918 RSR, it’s unclear where it would exactly race. With no category for the mid-engined supercar currently in the Le Mans rulebook and with it unlikely to be eligible under FIA rules in the GT1 World Championship, Porsche could be helping pave the way for a new set of regulations around cutting-edge hybrid race cars.

Porsche has said, though, that it plans to place its 918 Spyder, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last March, and a coupe version of this car, into street-car production by 2013.




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