Porsche featured its radical new GT3 race car with hybrid drive at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

It is 110 years since Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first car with hybrid drive – the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus. And like the oldie, the new GT3 R Hybrid brings innovative hybrid technology developed especially for racing.

The race car stands out significantly in its configuration and components from conventional hybrid systems.

It has an electrical front axle drive with two electric motors each developing 60kW that supplements the 353kW 4.0-litre, flat-six engine at the rear.

Significantly, instead of the batteries in a hybrid road car, an electrical flywheel generator positioned next to the driver delivers energy to the electric motors.

The flywheel generator itself is an electric motor with its rotor spinning at speeds of up to 40,000rpm, storing energy mechanically as rotation energy.

The flywheel generator is charged whenever the driver applies the brakes, with the two electric motors reversing their function on the front axle and acting themselves as generators.

When accelerating out of a corner or overtaking the driver can then use this electric energy from the charged flywheel generator, the flywheel being slowed electromagnetically in the generator mode to supply up to 120kW to the two front electric motors.

The extra power is available for six to eight seconds after each charge.

Depending on racing conditions, hybrid drive is used not only for extra power, but also to save fuel.

This increases efficiency and the performance of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid by reducing the weight of the fuel tank or the need to make extra pit stops.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be tested in long-distance races on the Nurburgring.

The highlight of this test program will be the 24 Hours on the Nordschleife of Nurburgring on May 15 and 16 where the car will be used as a racing lab.

Technology gained will subsequently be used in hybrid technology for road-going Porsche sports cars.

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