Lexus Hybrid to Enter Endurance Event
Lexus has high hopes for their GS 450h. Billed as a sport sedan with an environmentally friendly twist, it’s a fantastic car. Loaded with technology and comfort, it’s almost unparalleled in the field of covering ground quickly and cheaply, but has yet to be taken seriously by those shopping around their local BMW and Mercedes dealers for a fast four door.
And rightfully so. Compared to BMW’s and Mercedes’ potent V8-powered sedans, the Lexus feels relatively soft and detached, just how you’d like your luxury car to feel. After all, that same softness is what keeps you from spilling your no-whip, nonfat, decaffeinated soy latte on the way to work. And hey, who really expected a hybrid to compete with good ‘ol German V8s anyways? The short answer; Lexus. They’ve set out to prove that their GS 450h can stand with the best of them by signing the car up for Japan’s only 24-hour endurance race, the Tokachi 24-hour.
Run at Tokachi International Speedway in Hokkaido from July 15-17, the race is, as all 24-hour endurance events are, a grueling one. With that in mind, the Lexus team hopes to use the incredibly demanding race environment to test the GS 450h’s engineering. The first time a manufacturer has fielded a gas-electric hybrid in a semi-international (or higher) competition, the Lexus team will be monitoring the big sedan, looking for both ways to make the hybrid drive and power system smaller and lighter, as well as evaluating the potential success a hybrid vehicle could have in worldwide competition.
Producing 339 horsepower, the gas-electric hybrid is not actually a 4.5L V8, as the GS 450h’s nomenclature would have one believe. Instead, a 3.5L gasoline V6 churns away under the hood, assisted by a massive 650 volt electric motor that can produce another 197 horsepower when needed. The normal mode of motivation, the electric motor is sufficient for most normal driving conditions while the V6 is activated when the situation calls for more power. As a result of all this technological wizardry, the GS accelerates from a stop in a rush of quickly-building speed. With every single drop of that huge electric motor’s torque available off-idle, there is no waiting for the engine to reach peak torque; there’s more than enough to move off the line briskly.
Backed by a CVT transmission, the operation of the hybrid system is completely unnoticeable, with the gasoline engine starting up without any amount of lag and acceleration devoid of shudders, lurches or blips. Unfortunately, you almost want that level of discomfort in a race car, and the combination of the heavy hybrid drive system and CVT transmission could hurt Lexus’ chances in the race, especially given that the car’s accelerative properties aren’t the best (0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds), at least compared to a BMW M5 or Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (although it’s quicker than anything in its size and price class by a long shot) and the top speed is relatively low at 211 km/h (131 mph). But, no doubt Lexus is hoping that any ground lost to more powerful vehicles can be made up by a reduction of pit stops, similar to how the new diesel-powered Audi R10 prototype won the 24 hours of Le Mans last month and Sebring the month before; however, we’ll just have to wait and see.
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