Porsche GT3 Gererator
 

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galle...che_hybrid.jpg

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/galle...e_interior.jpg

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/autos/1002/gallery.porsche_gt3_hybrid/index.html

It sounds a bit like the KERS system from last years F1.

My thoughts exactly, and I hope that the KERS technology does not disappear for a decade. It sounds like a doable thing.

"After its debut in Geneva the 911 GT3 R Hybrid will be tested in long-
distance races on the Nürburgring. The highlight of this test programme will be the 24 Hours on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring on May 15th and 16th. The focus is not on the 911 GT3 R Hybrid winning the race, but rather serving as a spearhead in technology and a “racing laboratory” providing know-how on the subsequent use of hybrid technology in road-going sports cars. - Porsche PR

"The new race car is the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid and is based on the 911 GT3 RSR. Unlike conventional hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid uses a system similar to the F1-style Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in which an electro-mechanical flywheel is used to store kinetic energy created under braking. The flywheel, which spins at speeds of up to 40,000 rpm and is located where the front passenger normally sits, can then be tapped to release its stored kinetic energy in the form of electricity, into a pair of 80 horsepower electric motors mounted on the front axle and driving the front wheels, while the gasoline engine powers the rears.
The system works in conjunction with the car's 480 horsepower naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six engine and provides a maximum eight-second burst of propulsion to the front wheels at the push of a button, delivering the boost necessary to maximize exit speed from a corner or to pass another car." - Motor Authority

do it right and you can be flung out the corner exit like you're on a catapult!

Better pictures from the Fatherland:

http://www.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/0,1518,677107,00.html

George

Putting that power to the front should make this thing come out of a corner like a rocket... Will be very cool to see how it does in the race.... If they've got the bugs worked out of the system they ought to be a contender....

I saw the Panoz Hybrid race car at Road Atlanta in 1998. It was heavier than the all gas version and a little slower. By mid race the batteries were mostly ballast as they supplying more power than they were being recharged with during braking. At the end of the long straight the rotors on this vehicle were glowing brighter than any other on the track.

This design may be better from a battery perspective as the battery weight is gone. A flywheel is going to have to have some mass to store some power. I wonder about the effect of gyroscopic precession. Maybe this would be a better option for NASCAR. "It handles great coming out of a left hand corner but I cannot get the darn thing to rotate right...."

Extra! Rinspeed “UC?” and Porsche Hybrid 911
 

Yea, I was wondering about the gyroscopic precession forces. For the flywheel to have enough energy to help make the car go faster, the forces mut be huge.