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By EWAN
KENNEDY
4 May 2009
And now for something right out of left track. A
hybrid vehicle will act as a pace car at upcoming NASCAR oval
track races.
The petrol-electric Camry will pace a 600 mile (960 km) race
around a one and a half mile (2.4 km) oval in North Carolina on
May 24. It will also pace five other NASCAR Cup events this year,
becoming the first hybrid used as the official pace car for an
entire event in the premier NASCAR Cup series.
Toyota's Hybrid Camry, which will be built in the company's Altona,
Melbourne plant and go on sale here early next year, has passed
all the performance tests required by NASCAR.
Pace cars must meet performance standards, including being able to
reach 100 mph (160 km/h) in a quarter of a mile (403 metres) on a
banked track from a standing start near the pit-road exit.
Ed Laukes, corporate manager for motor sports marketing at Toyota
Motor Sales USA, said "There are misconceptions about hybrid
technology among the public that we're trying to erase. This is a
way for us to demonstrate the hybrid used on the track is the
exact same car you can buy in a showroom."
The Hybrid Camry is powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol
engine and an electric motor with combined output of approximately
140 kW. Fuel consumption is about 7 litres/100km when measured to
American standards. Figures are still to be calculated for
Australian vehicles, but are likely to be similar.
Apart from special graphics and race-warning lights, the Toyota
Camry pace car is a standard production model with an identical
powertrain to the one in the car that will be offered to
Australian buyers
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Marque Publishing Company
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