Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Racing Plans Announced

The North American division of Porsche has just announced it will take the 911 GT3 R Hybrid to competitions in the US and China, after the car achieved an impressive result at the Nurburgring 24-hour race held in May.

The racecar, launched at Geneva in March, will run at the American Le Mans Series finale 'Petit Le Mans' at Road Atlanta on October 2. The race runs over a distance of 1,000 miles or a maximum of ten hours. The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will not be eligible for points, as hybrid technology is not yet included in the GT regulations.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid will then again be competing for no points at the new Le Mans International Cup finale, a six hour race in Zhuhai, China on November 7.

"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," Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, said in a release. "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," adds Kristen.

The production-based GT race car uses a hybrid technology purpose-built for racing, with two electric motors (60 kW each) featured on the front axle and the 480 hp naturally aspirated four-liter flat-six driving the rear wheels. What is really interesting about this car is that drivers can manually utilize the stored energy with a boost-paddle on the steering wheel for overtaking.