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One of the more interesting but overlooked facts from the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was that the Audi R10 TDI cars not only ran, but won, on a mixture of Shell V-Power Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) racing diesel and a newly designed Biomass-to-Diesel (BTL) fuel. We've been fascinated with prospects of biomass diesel since taking a trip to the Sears Tower in the algae van , as BTL offers cleaner output, has no fossil-fuel base and doesn't interfere with the food chain. The version used in the race cars was also 90% cleaner than American low-sulfur diesel. We talked with Audi of America's Christian Bokich about his experience at Le Mans with the winning diesel team. galleryPost('08lemansaudi', 6, 'Audis Galore At Le Mans'); galleryPost('audir10lm08', 6, 'Audi R10 TDI Running At Le Mans'); Why biodiesel in a racing car? Christian Bokich: We're racing to show people what's coming in our future cars, and to show that we're leaders in diesel. It has...
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Peugeot intends to race a diesel hybrid version of its 908 prototype at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jean-Philippe Collin, the French automaker's new CEO, revealed the plans in an interview with L-Equipe, revealing that the vehicle could see competition as early as November at the ACO 1,000km challenge in Shanghai. We predict success for the first diesel electric hybrid racecar, it'll be able to combine the excellent fuel economy and torque characteristics of both diesels and hybrids and would be positioned to take advantage of any future rule changes that benefit hybrid technology. F1, for example, is actively working to bring power added by regenerative braking to the sport [Via Motor Authority ]
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Is Toyota planning to face down Audi's Le Mans diesel juggernaut with a hybrid? Maybe, if a report from Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper is to be believed. Insiders, in the form of unnamed sources, say the company is plotting a return to Sarthe for the first time since 1999. Word is, Toyota's planned return is on target for 2010. The report indicates Toyota's not confirming that date, which may be adjusted based on its F1 plans (Toyota's reportedly committed to Formula One through 2012). Web site Planet Le Mans reports Toyota's formed a development team culled from its motorsports and hybrid-vehicle squads to develop a gas-electric sports-car entry for Le Mans. It could be the ultimate symbolism for the face-off between hybrids and new, cleaner diesels on the streets of the US, only played out a few thousand miles removed. [ Planet Le Mans ] galleryPost('1999toyotagtone', 6, '1999 Toyota GT-One Le Mans Racecar');
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As part of a drive to push green innovation in the racing world, the American Le Mans series has announced the Green Challenge. Basically, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are partnering with SAE to encourage race teams to use renewable fuels, alternative engine configurations, regenerative braking and emissions controls. Chevy unveiled this Corvette race car, plastered in E85 stickers, to highlight the announcement. We're bigger fans of the Vantage GT2 , which is also powered by ethanol, or the Lexus IS350 GT2 . No emissions targets or environmental impact limits have been set. While we would love to see racing reduce its impact on the world around us, thus furthering research into enabling passenger cars to do the same, we can't help but feel efforts like this merely pay lip service to being environmentally friendly in order to placate critics.
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