24 Hours of Le Mans was a Crucial Time Period

Posted on 16/06/2014 by sumayah

The 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans was the crux of the whole matter as various race car drivers engaged in the face-off of face-offs. The GT car finished with a speed spurt at the end and won the event....

GreenGT H2 eyes-on: the first fuel cell-powered racer to tackle Le Mans

Posted on 28/09/2012 by Tim Stevens

The 24 hour race at Le Mans held every year is among the most punishing automotive tests on the planet: race-bred machines running top-speed (or close) for a full day. Recently, gasoline-powered cars have had their dominance usurped by diesels, who themselves are now losing to hybrids. The next step? It could be EVs. The GreenGT H2 will take the grid of next year's 24 hour race as an experimental entry, driving the full race distance pushing only water vapor out its tailpipe. Hydrogen is stored in the two large tanks running down the sides, while the massive fuel cell stack itself is situated behind the driver. Power output is somewhere north of 500 horsepower, which is quite healthy for a car that the company hopes will be down under 1000Kg (2,200 pounds) by the time it hits the track in anger. Enough to win Le Mans? Almost certainly not, but it'll be fun to watch it try.

Gallery: GreenGT H2 LeMans Hydrogen-powered race car

Steve Dent contributed to this report.

Filed under: Transportation

GreenGT H2 eyes-on: the first fuel cell-powered racer to tackle Le Mans originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi’s e-Tron becomes the first hybrid to win Le Mans, saves the planet at the same time

Posted on 18/06/2012 by Daniel Cooper

Audi's R-18 e-Tron diesel-electric hybrid has become the first car of its kind to win the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. Audi and Toyota both submitted environmentally friendly racers, but the latter's LMP1 crashed, which left the German automaker to a 1-2 finish (while a pair of non-hybrid racers placed third and fifth, respectively). Unlike battery-based hybrids, the R-18 uses a hefty turbo-diesel V6 pushing power to the back wheels, along with a flywheel to recover braking energy and drive a motor attached to the front wheels. The company has revealed that it's actually testing this far cheaper, battery-free system in a production vehicle, so perhaps it's only a matter of time before you'll be able to go a full day on a tank -- give or take the odd rest stop.

Continue reading Audi's e-Tron becomes the first hybrid to win Le Mans, saves the planet at the same time

Audi's e-Tron becomes the first hybrid to win Le Mans, saves the planet at the same time originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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