Gas-Electric Hybrid Prototype To Run In Next Le Mans Race!

Corsa Motorsports is teaming up with hybrid powerplant builder Zytec Group to run a gas-electric LMP1 prototype car in the American Le Mans Series. The hybrid features an E10 ethanol-fueled 4.5L V8 as well as a Li-ion powered 35kW electric motor, and will debut next month in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta—which CarDomain will be covering live! If all goes well, Corsa hopes to field a two-car team during the 2009 season. An attempt has been made once before to run a hybrid in ALMS, back in 1998—a gas-electric hybrid Panoz, also built in collaboration with Zytec, did pretty well in its class at Petit Le Mans, but had to be withdrawn after completing only the one race because of issues concerning the weight of its battery. With the lighter and more reliable technology of today, Corsa is hoping to make its new car a serious contender in the top prototype-car division of ALMS. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!