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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid racecar coming to Atlanta

Porsche announces that the 911 GT3 R Hybrid Racecar will run at the American Le Mans series finale, "Petit Le Mans," Oct. 2, 2010, at Road Atlanta.

Suzanne Ashe
Suzanne Ashe has been covering technology, gadgets, video games, and cars for several years. In addition to writing features and reviews for magazines and Web sites, she has contributed to daily newspapers.
Suzanne Ashe
2 min read
Porsche

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which led its overall classification for more than 8 hours back in May at the Nurburgring 24-hour race, will now travel to the USA and Asia.

Due to its larger range, the GT3 R Hybrid took the lead in the race after the other cars pitted, but left it with less than two hours to go.

This fall, U.S. racing fans will get a chance to see the GT3 R Hybrid at the season finale of the American Le Mans Series. The "Petit Le Mans" on Oct. 2, at Road Atlanta. The race runs more than 1,000 miles, or a maximum of 10 hours. According to Porsche, GT3 R Hybrid will not be eligible for points, as hybrid technology is not yet included in the GT regulations.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Racecar will run at the American Le Mans Series finale, "Petit Le Mans," Oct. 2, 2010 at Road Atlanta. Porsche

"After the 911 GT3 R Hybrid's fantastic performance at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, we are now eager to gain more experience with the hybrid technology on a variety of race tracks," said Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport. "At the same time, we would like to show fans and customers in our most important markets how our 'race lab' performs under racing conditions," Kristen added.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid features two electric motors at the front axle, each developing 60 kilowatts to supplement the 480-horsepower normally aspirated rear engine. When the driver brakes, the car converts kinetic energy into electrical energy and stores it in a flywheel. When the driver accelerates, this energy is automatically delivered to the front wheels, supporting the combustion engine. This leads to a reduction in fuel consumption and increases the cruising range. Drivers can manually utilize the stored energy with a boost paddle on the steering wheel for overtaking other cars in a race.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid will also race at Le Mans International Cup on Nov. 7. The car will not be competing for points in the 6-hour race in Zhuhai, China.