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Posts tagged federation internationale
Official: Toyota returning to Le Mans with hybrid LMP1 car
Oct 14th
Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Toyota, Racing
Toyota has announced that it is returning to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s World Endurance Championship in 2012. The car it will be contesting the series with is a new prototype that will use a hybrid gasoline/electric powertrain. We can only hope the experience will equal more exciting future models under the Prius range…
The last time Toyota competed in Le Mans racing was in 1999, just before the Japanese automaker abandoned the GT-One program to focus on Formula One.
We don’t expect Toyota’s new LMP1 racer to have anything in common with the erstwhile GT-One, which was powered by a 600-horsepower 3.6-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. Though always fast, Toyota’s last-gen endurance racer never quite put together a complete race. Here’s hoping the effort produces more consistent results this time around. Check out the official announcement after the break.
Continue reading Toyota returning to Le Mans with hybrid LMP1 car
Toyota returning to Le Mans with hybrid LMP1 car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mitsubishi "very interested" in electric F1 racing league
May 2nd
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi, Racing
U.S.-market Mitsubishi i – Click above for high-res image gallery
In early April, Jean Todt, president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), made it known that he hopes to launch a couple of racing events (electric car, go-kart and single-seat vehicles) that will eventually lead to an electrified Formula One series. Though Todt’s plans will likely be opposed by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, that hasn’t prevented Mitsubishi from declaring that it’s “very interested” in a racing series for electric vehicles. Japan Today reports that Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko is intrigued by the notion of electric racecars. Masuko supposedly told the newspaper that:
The development costs for electric vehicles seem much lower than for gasoline cars, and it would also contribute to the technological development of cars that are already on the market. I’m said to be unenthusiastic about motorsports, but with electric vehicles, I want to promote them.
Open-wheel racing, at any level, would be uncharted territory for Mitsubishi, but the Japanese automaker has invested a significant amount into developing its own electric vehicles. If the company is going to enter the world of open-wheel racing, it’s fitting that it would go electric.
Photos copyright (C)2010 Jeff Glucker / AOL
[Source: Inside Line]
Mitsubishi “very interested” in electric F1 racing league originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 02 May 2011 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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