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10-12-2007, 11:39 PM
by Alex Nunez (http://www.autoblog.com/bloggers/alex-nunez)
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/07/53350toy_450.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/denso-sard-supra-hv-r/315993/)
Toyota Team SARD's specially-prepared Supra HV-R (http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/18/toyota-sard-entering-supra-hv-r-hybrid-racer-in-tokachi-24-hours/) hybrid GT racer has won the Tokachi 24-hour endurance race in Japan. The converted Super GT-spec racing car did so convincingly, too. As the only GT-class car in the field, the Denso SARD Supra HV-R maintained a steady lead of several laps throughout the course of the race, and in the later hours, it essentially dialed things up a notch and ran away from the rest of the field. After starting from the pole position (http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/15/denso-sard-supra-hv-r-takes-the-pole-at-tokachi-24/), the Supra completed 616 laps in the ensuing 24 hours -- 19 more than the second-place finisher. The victory marks the first of its type for a hybrid-powered vehicle. The Supra HV-R began life as a retired 480-horsepower Super GT racing car, which then had regenerative braking technology and a trio of hybrid motors added to it for this event. What bearing, if any, the success of the Supra HV-R has on Toyota's plans for production sports hybrid vehicles is unknown. With reports that the FT-HS concept is on its way to production, however, we'll likely be seeing how well a production-spec hybrid sports car fares soon enough.
More Pics: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/denso-sard-supra-hv-r/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/16/hybrid-toyota-supra-wins-tokachi-24-hrs/
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/07/53350toy_450.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/denso-sard-supra-hv-r/315993/)
Toyota Team SARD's specially-prepared Supra HV-R (http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/18/toyota-sard-entering-supra-hv-r-hybrid-racer-in-tokachi-24-hours/) hybrid GT racer has won the Tokachi 24-hour endurance race in Japan. The converted Super GT-spec racing car did so convincingly, too. As the only GT-class car in the field, the Denso SARD Supra HV-R maintained a steady lead of several laps throughout the course of the race, and in the later hours, it essentially dialed things up a notch and ran away from the rest of the field. After starting from the pole position (http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/15/denso-sard-supra-hv-r-takes-the-pole-at-tokachi-24/), the Supra completed 616 laps in the ensuing 24 hours -- 19 more than the second-place finisher. The victory marks the first of its type for a hybrid-powered vehicle. The Supra HV-R began life as a retired 480-horsepower Super GT racing car, which then had regenerative braking technology and a trio of hybrid motors added to it for this event. What bearing, if any, the success of the Supra HV-R has on Toyota's plans for production sports hybrid vehicles is unknown. With reports that the FT-HS concept is on its way to production, however, we'll likely be seeing how well a production-spec hybrid sports car fares soon enough.
More Pics: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/denso-sard-supra-hv-r/
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/16/hybrid-toyota-supra-wins-tokachi-24-hrs/