Lexus hybrid shows well in first endurance race
Autoblog readers will recall that we reported on Lexus' plans to enter a modified GS450h hybrid in a 24-hour endurance race last month. Well, the race has been run, the results are in, and the big Denso-sponsored Lexus came home a remarkable 4th in class and 17th overall. Making the result even more significant is the fact that the Tokachi 24 hour race marked the first time a hybrid vehicle had entered an FIA-sanctioned circuit race.
Lexus team SARD ran a conservative race, their first competition outing with the new car, steadily moving up the overall classification from 30th at the six hour mark to 17th after 18 hours.
Despite being stripped and lightened for racing, the big sedan still passed over the scales nearly 300 lb over the allowed minimum weight for its class - a huge disadvantage that probably contributed to a mid-race pit stop to change brake rotors. The hybrid powertrain necessitated some unusual pit stop procedures - the crew had to regularly replenish the dry ice cooling system for the trunk-mounted batteries.
With the FIA already looking at regenerative braking and alternative powertrains for its flagship Formula 1 series, don't be surprised to see more hybrid cars in international motorsports in the next few years.
More pics after the jump.
[Source: Lexus team SARD]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
VW-Guy 5:09PM (8/18/2006)
I think this is potentially interesting. What I would like to know is what was the MPG this car got and how that would compare to running straight petrol engine. Anyone know?
On the surface this looks like just a marketing stunt to me. Run that Lexus HARD like you would have to in a race, and all the hybrid stuff is just extra weight. Really, at race pace, how much power can this car continuously pull from the hybrid system?
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Mike 5:30PM (8/18/2006)
I fail to see the point of a hybrid race car - other than for marketing purposes.
Except for the start and maybe the pit-stops, the car is running on a gasoline engine like everyone else. Where are there any benifits??
Please, someone enlighten me!
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scatterbrain 5:48PM (8/18/2006)
Totally a marketing ploy, wait for the TV ad showing Lexus in racing drag. Shameless simply shameless, if they want to race, get a crew and run against Ford, Chevy and Dodge and watch them get their asses creamed.
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doglet 5:54PM (8/18/2006)
i think hybrids are a waste of money, they dont make economic sense and are just a really expensive "save the rainforest" bumpersticker
that being said i am glad that they are racing them. competition is the fastest way to develope and advance technology and to make it work for everyone.
"I fail to see the point of a hybrid race car - other than for marketing purposes."
right now they make no sense whatsoever. the hope is that they will learn how to make it work and apply that to the next generation. who knows, 20 years from now hybrid racecars could be destroying the ICE only competition.
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sr20de 5:59PM (8/18/2006)
Not a lot of bright people on AB these days. By pushing the technology to its limits, it allows for excellent R&D opportunities. You have to start somewhere. The things Lexus/Toyota learns on the track will someday be applied to their production hybrids. Get a clue!
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MikeW 6:09PM (8/18/2006)
It is the IVT transmission that is the key asset here. Full power anywhere/everywhere.
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kevin 6:25PM (8/18/2006)
diesel all the way!
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Gregory 6:52PM (8/18/2006)
Lexus is a comin' we're gonna getcha, don't be scared. Toyota just took over Ford for sales in the US. GM is next!!!! WAHHHHH HAAAAAA!!!!
Lexus and Toyota is gonna rule the automotive rule, so get used to it and shut up.
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JSFORBES 7:06PM (8/18/2006)
Hyrbids aren't fit for racing? Did you miss the part where it was 4th in class and 17th overall with 300 pounds of extra weight?
I wonder if they used the regenerative brakes.
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PJ 7:13PM (8/18/2006)
"if they want to race, get a crew and run against Ford, Chevy and Dodge and watch them get their asses creamed."
Check the photos for the other cars this GS is racing against: race-prepped M3s, S2000s, and Evo VIIIs. Oh, I think it could handle a Chevy or Ford, short of a Le Mans C6R.
I'm not sure where this knee-jerk negativity over a hybrid race car comes from. Sure, it's a marketing ploy. So are the "Fusion" and "Monte Carlo" badges on NASCAR-spec race chassis. And Danica Patrick.
Regardless of the manufacturer or the technology involved, there is, on some level, the potential to learn lessons that can translate to consumer vehicles. If anything, the relatively nascent state of hybrid technology means Toyota will get more out of this than most racing ventures.
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Jaimie B 7:38PM (8/18/2006)
"if they want to race, get a crew and run against Ford, Chevy and Dodge"
Uhhh...You obviously haven't been watching Craftsman Truck Series. Toyota's whipped everyone of these loser manufacturers you mentioned despite only having participated in the series for 2 years. They'd do it again in NASCAR just you wait.
Another example is IRL. Toyota hammered Ford so bad, Ford couldn't stand the beating and subsequently had to leave the series. Now that's embarassing.
But the ultimate embarassment is someone like you making uninformed statements like the one you made.
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jimbo 7:46PM (8/18/2006)
Who is this Gregory???? A member of the Taliban???
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jimbo 8:10PM (8/18/2006)
The reason why Toyota is so successfull in racing is because it dumps huge amounts of money into it. All of it's technology is factory backed. Most of it was stolen by traitor crew chiefs and engine builders they pryed from existing NASCAR teams. They lost a 6 million dollar lawsuit because of the theft. The domestics do very little in the way of R&D in racing. They supply a foundation and leave the subtle tweaks up to the individual race teams. Toyota should spend a little more money paying it's American employees decent wages with benefits than worrying about winning every race and making this country the Mexico of Japan.
P.S.
Letting Toyota into Nascar Will be the death of Nascar. Most fans are grass roots people with strong convictions. They are blue collar workers seeing their average wages being lowered by foriegn companies buying up the U.S. and paying less wages and benefits from the jobs being tranfered. They are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. They are not the modern fair weather type who lick their finger and stick it in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.
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ed 9:07PM (8/18/2006)
jimbo,
I thought I remembered you....you were the guy swinging baseball bats at Toyotas during the 90's right?
Good times, you idiot, good times.
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Chris 9:33PM (8/18/2006)
I think this actually would have some benifits over the standard model. At least in Best MOTORing the GS450h was a full second faster than the GS430 around Tsukuba Circuit. 7 tenths slower than a Fuga 450GT (Infiniti M45) though. So I don't know about any fuel economy benefits, but the hybrid is faster than the standard car around a track.
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SherbornSean 10:12PM (8/18/2006)
I read some funny comments on this thread that Toyota/Lexus is only racing a hybrid for marketing purposes.
Um, people, that's why ALL the car manufacturers pour money into racing. Remember: "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday."
Did you really think car manufacturers sink billions of dollars into racing because they find it an enjoyable diversion?
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Scott W 10:45PM (8/18/2006)
Everytime Toyota gets into something "new", everyone makes fun of them, like here on AB. I remember Iococca tauting Toyota in the mid-80's to make those cars here in the US if they were going to be a serious automaker. And they did build about 14 plants over the last 20 years, and still growing. People laughed when they got into IRL and Craftsman truck. Now look at how they are winning. And they will do well in Nascar. And NO, Nascar will not cease to exist because Toyota is in it. Nascar will continue to grow right along with Toyota.
This denial of reality and delusional thinking is the same as the big 3 management over the last 20 years. Never taking Toyota seriously. But now, it is about too late for them. DCX is just going to become a second tier automfg. GM will survive but never get back to their previous world dominance. And I am not sure if Ford is gonna make it, if they don't make some serious changes quick.
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laba-laba 1:05AM (8/19/2006)
300 pounds how much in kilogram (kg)?
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Chris 1:46AM (8/19/2006)
136kg
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m 2:39AM (8/19/2006)
hybrids have much lower emissions than their non-hybrid counterparts. That is the #1 goal of hybrids: Reduced Emissons, NOT saving you money at the pump. Lower fuel costs in the long run is secondary to REDUCED EMISSIONS. Remember that before you go slagging on hybrids
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