Car News Articles 
 Alternative Fuel Vehicles
 Automotive Articles
  Automotive Information (46)
  Careers (13)
  Car Donations (12)
 Car Makes And Models (225)
  Car Rentals (35)
  Child Safety (14)
  Gifts (22)
  Lemon Laws (47)
  Regulations (20)
  Technology (111)
 Car Buying Tips
 Car Insurance Articles
 Car Maintenance
 Car News
 Car Racing
 Car Repair
 Car Safety
 
 Driving Economically
 Environmental Issues
 Exterior Car Care
 Garage Know How
 
 How Car Stuff Works
 Motorcycle Articles
 Road Trips
 Traveling with Kids
 Younger - Older Drivers
 
 Amsoil Synthetic Oil
 Article Archives




spacer
spacer
Automotive Articles >> Car Makes And Models

Toyota Supra HV-R A Hybrid Race Car

Race cars are not known for being environmentally conscious.

While many racing series’ have made the switch to unleaded fuel or alcohol in the past decade, the environmental impact of shipping entire race teams across the globe, not to mention the sheer amount of fuel consumed by all the required support vehicles at any given racing event, is enormous.

There can be no argument that motor sports are not the greenest of activities.

Realizing that there is little that they can do about the surrounding situation, Toyota has turned their attention to the one area directly under their control as a race car developer – the track.

The car they have chosen to put on the track is radical departure from traditional race car design. That car is the Toyota Supra HV-R.

With a 473 horsepower V8 engine and a platform based on the Supra GT race car that was extremely successful in Japanese Super GT racing, at first glance the HV-R might seem identical to its other GT1 class competitors.

But peel back the skin and the hybrid system that sets this Supra apart from all the others is revealed. With a four wheel drive system that regenerates energy from braking, the Supra HV-R has a small motor in each front wheel and a third motor on the rear axle.

In a unique design, Toyota does not use rechargeable cells but stores the electrical energy in a large capacitor, allowing for a much faster charge and discharge cycle. Altogether these electrical motors add 227 horsepower to the package, bringing the total useable horsepower of the Supra HV-R to a very healthy 700.

Combined with the ultra-low vehicle weight of 2376 pounds, the Supra HV-R has been able to trounce the competition, winning the Tokashi 24-Hour race in 2007.

While non-traditional racing power sources have been making some noise in the last few years, such as Audi’s success with their R8 diesel platform, hybrid race cars are still something of a novelty.

As with Audi, Toyota has approached this form of alternative racing power with an eye towards testing out new technologies on the track in order to apply them to the street.

It might be strange to think of the sleek Supra HV-R as a test bed for the meek, economy-oriented Toyota Prius, but as it zooms around the race circuit it is providing valuable data that will help Toyota make all of their hybrids more fuel efficient, cheaper – and maybe a little bit faster.







Related Articles:
The i: BMW's New Electric Brand
The Honda Accord Coupe Concept
Who Needs a Steering Wheel? Not the Honda EV-STER Concept!
2012 BMW 650i
The Ford Vertrek Concept
Ready - Set - H2Go!
GMC Sierra All Terrain HD Concept
Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept
The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
2012 De Tomaso Pantera
The Mazda 2012 CX-5 Small Crossover
The Top 10 Coolest Low Cost Cars
Scion FR-S Concept Car
The Flying iCar Concept
2011 Vs. 2013 - the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco

spacer
sdg
make image
model image
zip code


Stay Updated!


Car Makes And Models
Related Articles
Best New Vehicles To Fit
The 5 Best Cars From
Ford's New Police Interceptors
Aston Martin V12 Zagato For
Pagani Huayra Carbon Edition Wows
The i: BMW's New Electric
The Honda Accord Coupe Concept
Who Needs a Steering Wheel?
2012 BMW 650i
The Ford Vertrek Concept
Ready - Set - H2Go!
GMC Sierra All Terrain HD
Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept
The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic
2012 De Tomaso Pantera
The Mazda 2012 CX-5 Small
The Top 10 Coolest Low
Scion FR-S Concept Car
The Flying iCar Concept
2011 Vs. 2013 - the
spacer

Feed Button



Car Insurance Info | Newsletter | Car Classifieds | Online Car Rentals
Auto Pictures | Link To Carjunky.com



Complete List of Article RSS News Feeds


Copyright © 1999 - . CarJunky® All Rights Reserved.