Toyota Supra HV-R Hybrid Race Car

We all knew that hybrids would hit racing Big Time at some point, right? It’s a foregone conclusion considering the instant power that electric drive motors provide any vehicle. Lexus has shown us that with its high-performance hybrid luxury sedans already. Well, while the Big Time scenario isn’t here quite yet, it sure is on its way courtesy of Toyota.

This automaker notched the first victory ever for a hybrid race car during the recent running of the Tokachi 24-hour endurance race in Japan. The win was reportedly a dominant one, with the Supra HV-R hybrid race car finishing 19 more laps in the end than the second place finisher.

The result is a far cry from last year’s performance when Toyota fielded a race-prepped Lexus GS 450h - the first hybrid ever to attempt the endurance race - that went on to finish 17th. In the intervening year, Toyota’s race team took what they learned from their initial attempt and developed a new hybrid system designed specifically for racing. Needless to say, the work paid off.

Converted from the (aptly-named) Supra GT that competes in the Super GT series in Japan, the race car features two distinctive hybrid technologies. Two 10 kW motors mounted in-wheel at the front and another 150 kW unit at the rear axle provide regenerative braking from all four wheels, allowing the vehicle to more efficiently capture energy during high-speed braking. Another innovation is a switch from batteries to capacitors, which are better suited to the rapid charging and discharging that accompanies a race’s repeated acceleration changes.

Toyota hopes to translate its experience from racing hybrids into lighter and more efficient production hybrid cars. Certainly, the success on the racetrack can’t hurt the prospects of finding a hybrid sports car from Toyota on the road in the near future. And why shouldn’t the old adage “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” apply to hybrids, after all?