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It's hard to believe that anything in your Prius or Insight could ever be worthy of a racecar, but that's where you'd be wrong. In many of today's popular motorsports, we're seeing a trend towards increased efficiency and downsizing engines. Systems similar to what you might find in your own hybrid are at work every weekend on some of the world's greatest tracks. Take a look through some of the hybrid technology that is changing motorsport as we know it – making today's racecars faster and cleaner.
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CVT Transmissions
Function in your car: Continuously Variable Transmissions (CTV) don't have fixed gear ratios, but rather utilize a chain-drive system to allow the engine to produce power at its most efficient speed. They are very common in today's hybrid cars.
Why it was incorporated: CVTs allow for consistent power delivery, compared to the endless acceleration and deceleration of fixed-gear transmissions, which may not offer a wide power band.
Noteworthy fact: In 1993, Williams tested a CVT-equipped prototype Formula 1 car. It kept the power constantly at the optimum rev, and brought about a sound that F1 hasn't seen since. However, it was banned before it even got a chance to race.
Electric All-Wheel-Drive
Function in your car: This function allows front- or rear-drive cars to become all-wheel-drive through the use of a separate electric motor powering the other two wheels.
Why it was incorporated: This gives racecars added extra traction and control, as well as AWD with reduced weight and mechanical complexity.
Noteworthy fact: The new 2014 Acura RLX features electric-enabled all-wheel-drive. Its big brother – the Acura NSX – will feature a similar system, just backwards.
Brake Regeneration
Function in your car: In addition to driving the wheels, electric motors are used to send power back to the battery pack when the brakes are applied. When the electric motor is spun in reverse, it acts as a generator – recuperating what would normally be wasted energy.
Why it was incorporated: To supplement the engine's battery-charging capabilities.
Noteworthy fact: The F1 KERS regeneration system from 2009-2013 accounted for 80hp worth of recovered energy. Today's MGU-K system offers approximately 160hp.
Electric Motors
Function in your car: Electric motors use energy stored in batteries to drive the car's wheels, either under electric power or in tandem with a fuel-burning motor.
Why it was incorporated: These electric motors add to the performance of today's racecars, allowing for quick acceleration due to instant torque delivery, but also are used to increase operating efficiency. In today's new breed of supercars (McLaren P1, for example), which are essentially racecars that you can take on the street, use electric motors for something called "torque fill," if the hybrid setup uses a turbocharged petrol engine. The electric motors kick in during the time that the turbochargers are spooling up, essentially eliminating any complaints about "turbo lag."
Noteworthy fact: The 2014 Nissan ZEOD RC hybrid-racer has enough electric-grunt to travel a full lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe on electric power only.
Battery Packs
Function in your car: Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium ion (Li-ion) battery packs are the most common energy storage system for today's hybrid road cars. These batteries power the car's hybrid-drive components and store energy from various regeneration systems.
Why it was incorporated: Racecars that run powerfully and efficiently are winners. Through the use of a battery pack, today's F1 and LMP1 cars can access just as much power as before, in a much more efficient package.
Noteworthy fact: The new Formula E racecars will run solely off of the juice from a pack of lithium-ion batteries.