Slow and steady wins the race indeed. I wonder if they’ll make them drain the batteries first….

/imagine no pit stops

Does having a hybrid engine provide an unfair advantage in fuel consumption to Lexus?

well, you’re definately trading in faster acceleration (and faster lap times) for less time wasted in the pits. But hey, any research into making hyprid technology light and cheap enough to become stantard equipment is good by me.

I wouldn’t expect it to be much different the diesel R10 at lemans. Same advantage, fewer pit stops, and same disadvantage, more weight.

^^^ you’re trading faster acceleration? Have you seen the specs on the 450h? It has a 0-60 time of 5.2 according to Lexus, and Car & Driver was able to better the ISs listed 0-60 by about half a second.

i am almost willing to bet that it DNFs and or gets blown away. What kind of hybrid system is this? the kind that kicks in while cruising or going down hill? doesnt seem like much of an advantage. The audi R10 is a totaly diff story. it was running faster lap times then everyone else out there AND having to fuel less. Diesel is the near future not hyrbids.

Diesel are faster then petrol now let alone Hybrid. They have almost double the torque of their petrol equivlent and are only slightly heavier compared to petrol. Hybrid doesn’t give any many benefits as diesel either

Toyota/Lexus make me sick.
They have all of this money going to R&D and they choose to field a race prepped production car instead of a fully blown race car? Yes they run forever and yes Lexus is kewl but as an engineering company they are so locked into slow and steady its ridiculous. Why couldn’t they create something to compete with the Audi? At a venue that is accepted by the world as the pinnacle of endurance racing? I’ve never heard of this Tokachi race. How grueling is it?

GAY. (EVERYTHING- the article, your comments!)

Jae…. Lexus is running a race version of the IS in the LeMans series races. It may not be the “fully blown race car” you’re talking about, but its in the race you were talking about.

ss…. I really liked your last comment on the Challenger article about the retro styling. But here you just lost your credibility with me. You haven’t seen this car race, and you are willing to bet it wont finish or it will just be crushed by competition? Thats fine, as I dont doubt the possibility that it wont be the fastest thing there, but it definately will benefit from fewer pit stops, just like the R10s you mentioned. But to say something like “What kind of hybrid system is this? the kind that kicks in while cruising or going down hill?” just displays your ignorance. I’m SURE that its not the kind that just kicks in while cruising or going down hill, because that would be retarded.

SS: I concur. There’s no way hybrids can outmuscle diesel engines, there’s no way around that. Diesels are the future.

you damn fools dont know a good car when you see one.toyota is better in other words is GOD!! compared to your weak cheap american cars and trucks……..

Bamf – not in total disagreement with you but that IS is equivalent to the aforementioned GS. I’m just saying that a company that big should not have a problem fielding race winning cars on the cutting edge – like Audi is doing. The Toyota in F1 is so sorry right now.- I guess I’m just biased against Toyota. I just feel no passion from them as a car company.

Performance hybrids do not get better gas mileage at higher speeds. Lexus’ claim of 5.2 0-60, is a fantasy. The GS450h has not been as fast as advertised. Every test done on the GS 450h has proven it to be slower than the times quoted by lexus. It has a small fuel tank and is very heavy. Its slalom times are pathetic. It is a luxury barge, virtually devoid of any “sport.”

nice for Lexus, its a very nice car

Toyota/Lexus are on their fourth generation of the hybrid technology. It is what is called a Full Hybrid, as opposed to the Honda system which called and IMA, or Integrated Motor Assist system. The Honda is just a gas-powered version of their regular production vehicle with some hybrid-type components that kick in when needed. Good for Lexus, running a hybrid in a race like this. It should be a great experiment and provide them with a wealth of information. Jae- Toyota is not and has never been the type of company that rides the waves of fads, passions, and doing things the popular way. They look 50 years into the future, where most car makers look 10 years out. That is why Toyota is the number two auto maker in the world with a net worth roughly TEN TIMES that of GM.

hybrids make little/no sense in racing… hybrids save gas in a few ways… one, the electric takes over during slow acceleration/driving, which you dont see in racing… the battery recharges when you brake, which happens in racing but you wont see it using that electrical energy that much… some versions (i dunno if the gs has this) use secondary electric motors to turn wheels that dont have physical connections to the engine, creating a less mechanically complex awd…
none of this adds up to an advantage in racing anywhere near that of audis r10 diesel. however it does add another system that can go wrong and you dont need more of those, especially in something as tough as endurance racing…

^^ thats what im trying to say BAMF. i did not want to comment on the hybrid system as i did not know for sure what kind it uses…it seems pointles to use electirc motors which are used in road cars primarly in stop and go driving to save gas. and i know GMs sytem pretty much shuts the engine off when the car is going down hill. none of this seems to be an advantage; Maybe they are revising it somehow…idk, but its just another thing to break. I am firmly behind diesel power. i hope Audis win at Le Mans is what sparks the diesel revolution here in the states. and just so everything is straight, my dad drives a 99.5 Jetta TDI and i have an 06 Scion xB so i dont have any prejudice to either car company.

toyota is the best…….

Toy Ota sucks! American cars rule!