Porsche said it will hire more than 1,400 new employees in the Stuttgart region to work on the development and production of the first all-electric sports car from Porsche, the Mission E. (Earlier post, earlier post.) The company plans to recruit in the fields of digitalization, e-mobility, smart mobility and... Read more →

EV developer Faraday Future announced a long-term alliance with Dragon Racing, becoming the core technical partner and title sponsor of the team. The new team name will be Faraday Future Dragon Racing, and the partnership will officially initiate at the beginning of Season 3 (2016/2017) at the Formula E Hong... Read more →

FIA Electric, the New Energy Commission, and the German Motorsport Association (DMSB) presented an electric racing kart prototype—the “e-kart”—in Berlin. Bosch Motorsport developed the powertrain system together with these motorsport organizing bodies, as well as with Germany’s largest kart manufacturer Mach 1 Kart. For this application, Bosch motorsport engineers developed... Read more →

At CES 2016 in January, NVIDIA introduced NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2—its new generation high-performance computing platform for in-vehicle artificial intelligence applied to the complexities inherent in autonomous driving. (Earlier post.) This week, at NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference, the company announced that the DRIVE PX 2 platform will be used in... Read more →

Toyota GAZOO Racing revealed the all-new TS050 HYBRID LMP1 racer—Toyota’s third new car since joining WEC in 2012—for the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) competition. Following an unsuccessful defense of its World Championship titles in 2015, Toyota set itself tough performance targets in order to compete once again at the... Read more →

Two days before the official Prologue for the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Paul Ricard, France, Porsche presented its new 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car for the 2016 season. This season, Porsche will fully exploit the WEC regulations by deploying three different aerodynamic packages to make the car best... Read more →

Audi unveiled its redesigned R18 diesel hybrid Le Mans racer for the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season. Among the new features in the R18 are a more radical aerodynamics concept, including a new safety cell; a Li-ion battery replacing the flywheel energy storage system; and a revised V6 TDI... Read more →

Jaguar is returning to global motorsport with a team entry in the FIA Formula E Championship in the autumn of 2016. The company said that FIA Formula E—the first global single-seater championship for electric-powered cars—offers a unique opportunity for Jaguar Land Rover to further the development of future EV powertrain... Read more →

The new Audi R18 made its world premiere on the occasion of the Audi Sport Finale at the Audi Training Center Munich on Saturday. Audi Sport has fundamentally re-designed the Audi R18 for the 2016 season. The LMP1 race car that will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours and... Read more →

Qualcomm Incorporated through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, have collaborated to enable the wireless download of racecar telemetry data via Wi-Fi using 5 GHz spectrum during Formula One practice sessions. This technology implementation marks a significant improvement over previous wired data offloading... Read more →

Williams Advanced Engineering, the sole supplier of the battery packs for the FIA Formula E Championship, confirmed that the maximum power output of the batteries for the racers will increase to 170kW during each race in season two of the Championship. The 28 kWh (maximum usable) battery packs, which use... Read more →

Nissan will delay its return to the LM P1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and instead focus on technical issues that challenged its race team during the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. Issues with the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) meant that the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO... Read more →

Teijin Limited announced that carbon fiber sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin, or prepreg, made by Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, is used in the lightweight body of a new 1.1 MW electric racecar operated by Team APEV with Monster... Read more →

Among its many other changes, the hybrid Audi R18 e-tron quattro that placed third at the Le Mans 24 Hours this past weekend featured a new generation of the Gyrodrive flywheel hybrid energy storage system, developed by GKN in collaboration with Audi Sport. (Earlier post.) Audi driver André Lotterer set... Read more →

Porsche has presented the second generation of its Le Mans Prototype 919 Hybrid race car. (Earlier post.) The new racer will compete in the 8 MJ category (8 MJ of recovered energy per race lap)—the highest of the current four energy categories in the LMP1 class. (The amount of liquid... Read more →

In the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the Le Mans 24 Hours as the season’s pinnacle event, Audi will compete with a thoroughly revised R18 e-tron quattro diesel hybrid racer in the 4-megajoule class. (Earlier post.) A two-fold quantity of hybrid energy, fundamentally revised aerodynamics, the next... Read more →

DeltaWing Technology Group is beginning development of a DeltaWing GT race car concept. The racer will be designed to demonstrate that with far less horsepower than many of today’s best sports cars, a two-seat performance car based on the DeltaWing architecture would deliver the same performance, yet with previously unattained... Read more →

Nissan revealed its Le Mans challenger, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, during a commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX. Nissan interpreted the sport’s technical regulations in an innovative way, producing a front-engined, front-wheel-drive car that is powered by a V6 3.0-liter twin turbo gasoline engine and a kinetic energy recovery... Read more →

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team unveiled its 2015 Formula One World Championship challenger, the F1 W06 Hybrid, ahead of the first day of pre-season testing at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain. An intensive design phase combining incremental gains and targeted innovation has produced the F1 W06 Hybrid,... Read more →

Renault Energy F1-2015 Power Unit. Click to enlarge. Renault Sport F1 has unveiled its 2015 power unit for Formula 1 racing, which incorporates a number of changes compared to its 2014 predecessor (earlier post). 2015 is the second year of competitive use for the power units that feature a V6... Read more →

The Dewar Trophy was presented to Andy Cowell, Managing Director of HPP, along with members of his project team from Brixworth. Click to enlarge. The UK’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC) has awarded the prestigious Dewar Trophy, presented for outstanding technical achievement in the automotive industry, to Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains... Read more →

Lucas di Grassi, FIA Formula E Beijing (Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team). Click to enlarge. Audi factory driver Lucas di Grassi and the Audi Sport ABT Formula E team won the inaugural event of the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship in Beijing. (Next weekend, di Grassi will return... Read more →

Williams Advanced Engineering, the engineering services and technology business of the Williams Group, has entered a partnership agreement with XALT Energy, supplier of the lithium-ion cells for the Williams’ battery in the Formula E racing series. This new partnership will also see the two companies collaborate on future projects involving... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz has outlined areas of actual synergies between its F1 motorsport activities with Mercedes AMG Petronas and Mercedes-Benz Cars. While there is definitely a technology transfer between race and road car engineering, said Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical) at Mercedes AMG Petronas, “it’s a more subtle process than bolting bits... Read more →

Racing group Team TAISAN and materials engineer Power Japan Plus—a company that is commercializing a dual carbon battery technology (earlier post)—have formed a partnership to develop an electric racing vehicle, which will be the first to use the Ryden dual carbon battery. Under this partnership, Power Japan Plus will provide... Read more →

Audi takes first and second at the 2014 Le Mans. Click to enlarge. In front of nearly 300,000 spectators at the 82nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) and Lucas di Grassi/Marc Gené/Tom Kristensen (BR/E/DK) secured a one-two Audi victory in the LMP1 class... Read more →

Audi is racing three R18 e-quattros at Le Mans. Click to enlarge. The Audi R18 e-tron quattro diesel hybrids (earlier post) that will race at Le Mans this coming weekend (14-15 June) are the lightest and most fuel efficient LMP1 racers has yet to bring to the track. New WEC... Read more →

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will enter two MiEV Evolution III all-electric racecars in the 2014 edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (23-29 June). MMC has competed twice before in the Electric Division—in 2012 and 2013—and now with the MiEV Evolution III, hopes to take its first victory, this... Read more →

Toyota Racing scored a one-two finish (#8 taking first, #7 second) from pole position in the Six Hours of Silverstone with its new TS040 HYBRIDs (earlier post) in a the first race of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Porsche’s new 919 Hybrid with two energy recovery systems (earlier... Read more →

TS040 HYBRID. Click to enlarge. Toyota Racing has revealed the TS040 HYBRID car and revised driver line-up for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship. (Earlier post.) With 480 PS (473 hp, 353 kW) of four-wheel-drive hybrid boost in addition to the 520 PS (513 hp, 383 kW) 3.7-liter V-8 gasoline... Read more →

Porsche 919 Hybrid. Click to enlarge. The Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 Le Mans prototype made its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The hybrid prototype will be joined by the Porsche 911 RSR at the Porsche exhibition in Geneva as well as at all eight races of the World Endurance... Read more →

Since 2012, Toyota has been racing its TS030 Hybrid, equipped with a full racing hybrid system, in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). (Earlier post.) Participating in all eight races and with two wins last year, Toyota plans to enter all races this year with two new TS040 vehicles from... Read more →

The PU106A Hybrid Power Unit. Click to enlarge. The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) Formula One Team unveiled the F1 W05, its 2014 challenger, at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain. Designed from the ground up as an integrated project between the Mercedes-Benz teams based at Brackley and... Read more →

The 400 hp DIG-T R race engine. Click to enlarge. Nissan unveiled a 400 hp (298 kW) 1.5-liter, three-cylinder turbo gasoline engine weighing only 40 kg (88 lbs) as the companion internal combustion engine for its electric ZEOD RC which will debut at Le Mans this year. (Earlier post.) At... Read more →

Exploded view of the parts of the power unit: 1.6l turbocharged V6 engine; battery; turbocharger; MGU-K; and MGU-H. Click to enlarge. Renault’s Energy F1-2014 hybrid Power Unit (earlier post), designed and developed for the FIA Formula One World Championship this year, is ready for the track; the 2014 season kicks... Read more →

Audi R18 e-tron quattro 2014. Click to enlarge. Audi has released initial details on its new 2014-generation Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 Le Mans prototype racer. Although the new diesel hybrid sports car appears like a continuous further development of the World Championship winning car and Le Mans winner of... Read more →

Rendering of the AEGT Evo2. Click to enlarge. Altran and Quimera have signed a new agreement to invest in their continued development and construction of vehicles to achieve better performance while significantly reducing environmental impact. One of the key commitments outlined by Altran and Quimera to deliver tangible results for... Read more →

Teaser sketch of Yaris Hybrid-R concept. Click to enlarge. At the upcoming 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Toyota stand will be devoted entirely to hybrids, the company says. Toyota’s hybrid portfolio, built over the past 16 years, comprises 23 models sold in 80 countries. As of the end of July... Read more →

Renault’s hybrid power unit for F1 in 2014 includes a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6L engine plus two motor generator units for energy recovery and use: the MGU-H (heat) and MGU-K (kinetic). Click to enlarge. At the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, Renault presented its new power unit designed to the... Read more →

Nissan ZEOD RC. Click to enlarge. Nissan unveiled the ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car)—an electric Le Mans prototype racing car intended to reach speeds of more than 300 km/h (186 mph) at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2014, where it will makes its debut. Nissan... Read more →

Lola-Drayson B12/69EV at Rockingham in January. Photo: Drayson Racing Technologies. Click to enlarge. Drayson Racing Technologies will make an attempt for the FIA World Electric Land Speed Record in the sub-1000kg class on 25 June at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire using a modified version of the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV electric Le... Read more →

The Twizy Renault Sport F1 concept. Click to enlarge. Renault engineers have built an “F1” concept version of the Twizy EV featuring a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) based on the solution used by Renault-powered Formula 1 race cars. Twizy Renault Sport F1 is consequently equipped with two electric motors—i.e.... Read more →

Powertrain of the McLaren P1. Click to enlarge. McLaren Automotive will unveil the production-ready version of its P1 plug-in capable hybrid supercar at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. (McLaren had introduced a design study version of the P1 at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.) Deliveries are expected to commence in... Read more →

2013 TS030 Hybrid. Click to enlarge. Toyota Racing unveiled the revised TS030 Hybrid car which will run in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this season. The TS030 made its debut in the WEC in 2012, and notched up three victories in six races.... Read more →

Static pressure. In-cylinder pressure contour after injection. Credit: SpeedSource Race Engineering. Click to enlarge. Earlier this year, Mazda Motorsports announced it would supply racing versions of the new SKYACTIV-D diesel engines (earlier post) to customer teams competing in GRAND-AM’s newly announced GX Class for advanced/clean technologies, beginning with the 2013... Read more →

Prototype Challenge racers at Long Beach. Click to enlarge. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), sanctioning body for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, has entered into an agreement with Jackson, Mich.-based Patrick Racing to research and develop natural gas as an alternative fuel for the Series’... Read more →

The R18 e-tron quattro hybrids at work. Click to enlarge. Marking the first victory of a hybrid vehicle at Le Mans, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro (earlier post), equipped with Williams Hybrid Power’s (WHP) electromechanical hybrid flywheel system, took the top two spots at the 80th running of the endurance... Read more →

TMG’s high-performance electric powertrain, with dual axial flux motors and inverters visible. Click to enlarge. Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) will demonstrate its high-performance electric powertrain technology at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on 8 July. Last year TMG set a new electric vehicle lap record at the... Read more →

SKYACTIV-D racing engine. Click to enlarge. Mazda Motorsports will supply racing versions of the new SKYACTIV-D diesel engines (earlier post) to customer teams competing in GRAND-AM’s newly announced GX Class for advanced/clean technologies, beginning with the 2013 season. The engines—stock-block Mazda SKYACTIV-D 2.2-liter diesel four-cylinder, dual-stage turbocharged powerplants—are being developed... Read more →

Nissan DeltaWing. Click to enlarge. Nissan is becoming a founding partner in DeltaWing Le Mans project (earlier post) and will provide an advanced and efficient Nissan 1.6-liter, turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine to power the DeltaWing car as it races at the Le Mans 24 Hours (16-17 June). The engine,... Read more →