800-Horsepower Hybrid to Race the 24 Hours of Nurburgring
Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 10:39 am
800-Horsepower Hybrid to Race the 24 Hours of Nurburgring
The guys behind the Gumpert Apollo supercar hope to prove that "green" and "performance" aren't mutually exclusive when they line up at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race in a hybrid producing 800 horsepower.
It will compete alongside gasoline-powered cars from the likes of Porsche, Audi and BMW on one of the most famous tracks in motor racing, and it opens another front in the campaign to make auto racing more environmentally responsible. The Indy Racing League runs 100 percent ethanol and Formula 1 teams must use kinetic energy recovery systems beginning next year, and German boutique automaker Gumpert wants to see more gas-electric drivetrains on the grid.
"Motorsports cannot ignore the necessity to save energy," says former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who with Dirk Müller will drive the Apollo. "I see a chance that our sport will go back to the forefront of technical development, making cars outside the race track more energy efficient."
Full Post on WIRED.com
The guys behind the Gumpert Apollo supercar hope to prove that "green" and "performance" aren't mutually exclusive when they line up at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race in a hybrid producing 800 horsepower.
It will compete alongside gasoline-powered cars from the likes of Porsche, Audi and BMW on one of the most famous tracks in motor racing, and it opens another front in the campaign to make auto racing more environmentally responsible. The Indy Racing League runs 100 percent ethanol and Formula 1 teams must use kinetic energy recovery systems beginning next year, and German boutique automaker Gumpert wants to see more gas-electric drivetrains on the grid.
"Motorsports cannot ignore the necessity to save energy," says former F1 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who with Dirk Müller will drive the Apollo. "I see a chance that our sport will go back to the forefront of technical development, making cars outside the race track more energy efficient."
Full Post on WIRED.com
