Peugeot has revealed a new hybrid race car that can be powered in three different ways. The car may be used at Le Mans and can run in electric mode only in the pit lane, internal combustion engine only, or a combination of the two. The 908 HDi FAP’s 'HY' technology enables a proportion of the kinetic energy produced under braking to be either recovered or stored. The car can then use the stored energy as either a power boost or to conserve fuel, essential in an endurance race.
The hybrid comprises three main elements:
1) A 60 kW gear-driven electric motor-generator which takes the place of the conventional starter motor
2) Batteries which permit recovered energy to be stored in 600 lithium-ion cells divided into 10 battery packs (six in the cockpit instead of the conventional battery and four on the left-hand side of the floor pan)
3) An electronic power converter (located in the rear part of the front left wing) which controls the flow of energy between the batteries and the motor-generator
In the course of a lap of Le Mans the system will recuperate energy for between 20 and 30 seconds. This energy reserve can be used in two ways. Firstly, it can deliver extra power thanks to an additional boost of 60 kW (80 bhp) for approximately 20 seconds per lap, either automatically when re-accelerating or when the driver chooses to make use of it (‘push to pass’). Secondly, it can be used to reduce fuel consumption for the equivalent level of performance thanks to the mechanical energy recovered (between three and five per cent).
Michel Barge (Peugeot Sport, Director): ‘This hybrid 908 HDi FAP is in perfect keeping with the overall mission of our endurance racing programme which covers not only the challenge of competing, of course, but also the fact that as a car manufacturer we can use motor sport as a research and development tool for the Peugeot brand as a whole. Whether we use this technology or not in 2009 will obviously depend on the details of the new regulations published by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.’