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We have seen several vehicle competitions on Mean Green Machines end in the favor of the hybrid. With this in mind, it is not too surprising that we may start to see some hybrid versions appear in Formula One as soon as the next coming season in 2009.
BMW has announced that they will be using their own brand of hybrid racing technology, known as the HR2, starting in 2009. This is a year earlier than what some had thought they would be ready.
The FIA (Federation Internationale de L'Automobile will be allowing competing teams to boost horsepower via hybrid (fuel saving) technology only. This means that folks around the track will certainly breath easier during race time, not to mention the environment (although on a much smaller scale, but every little bit helps).
This gives teams quite an incentive for international teams to "get on the stick" and start researching current technologies of building horsepower without using more fuel. The sky is actually the limit as far as horsepower goes, when you talking about 400+ additional horsepower that can be added to these cars via electric cell technology and then maintained through regenerative braking.
BMW will be unleashing their HR2, which currently has a hydrogen powered 6 liter, V 12 engine, with approximately 285 horsepower, can reach 0-60 in 6 seconds, and has a top speed of over 185 mph. Their Formula One prototype will be based off of this platform, but will be geared towards the rigors of Formula One racing.
This is a very exciting time for the folks who have been working for years to bring awareness of fossil fuel dependency and its environmental effects. Not much advancement has occurred with the automobile (on a large scale), as far as fuel efficiency goes, over the course of its existence if you really think about it. There are still vehicles with low fuel efficiency, and we are talking 12 mpg... we could achieve that some 50 years ago.
The idea of a hybrid race car would have been laughed at 10 years ago, but today it is actually being welcomed using words such as "cool". This is exactly the boost that "green" technology has been waiting for. If we can convince the public that these cars are a viable replacement to the old combustion engine, manufacturers will listen, and then we could really begin making some major headway on the environmental front.
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