In a victory for Prius drivers everywhere, a gasoline-electric hybrid Supra has won the Tokashi 24 hours. The first hybrid to ever win a race, you can bet it won't be the last. The 1,080kg car has 700bhp, 473 from its 4.4-liter engine and 227 from its electric motors.
Using a more efficient energy recovery system, the car takes advantage of the huge forces generated under braking in race conditions. In addition to boosting the power, the electric motors provide huge amounts of low down torque, measuring and regulating its application thousands of times a second, giving the Supra a huge advantage exiting corners.
As technology developed for racing begins to trickle down to road vehicles, we'll see lighter, more efficient and faster hybrids on the road.