Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid to Make North American Race Debut at Petit Le Mans

Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car will race for the first time in North America at The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón’s signature event—the Petit Le Mans on 2 October at Road Atlanta. The hybrid is equipped with a flywheel energy recovery system (KERS).

After its debut in April at Germany’s Nürburgring race circuit in a six-hour event, the Porsche Hybrid challenged the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May. It led many hours of the race until the closing two hours when a combustion engine issue forced the car to retire.

Because the ACO (sanctioning body for Le Mans racing) has not yet created rules for hybrid technology in production-based cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will race unclassified at Petit Le Mans.

At Petit Le Mans, five different types of alternative energy sources will be raced: clean diesel, E10, cellulosic E85, isobutanol and electric hybrid.