Toyota can now lay claim to having fielded the first hybrid vehicle to win an endurance race. The Denso SARD Supra HV-R won the Tokachi 24-hour race in convincing fashion, finishing 19 laps up on the second place car for a total of 616. The hybridized Super GT-spec Supra took the pole, lead all day, and opened up a significant gap in the final hours of the competition. It also had the fastest lap of the event. Powered by a 4,4480cc 3UZ-FE V8 augmented with a regenerative braking system, in-wheel electric motors in front, and a larger single electric motor for the rear wheels, the Supra HV-R was the sole GT-class entrant in this year's race. With reports saying that a production version of the FT-HS concept is on the way, we should be able to get a taste of what a streetable hybrid sports car is like in due time. In the meantime, Toyota has gone out and shown what a motorsports-prepared hybrid is capable of.

[Source: SARD]

Al Gore III's 100 mph police-interrupted ride in his Prius? Pfft. Boooo-ring. While media outlets all over the place got breathless over a Prius' ability to hit the century mark, there's been some serious hybrid performance stuff going on in Japan. No, not with Lexus. The Denso SARD Supra HV-R, strangely ignored in most English-language outlets save for Autoblog and AutoblogGreen, has done quite well for itself in the runup to today's Tokachi 24-hour endurance race (which will be well underway by the time you read this).

The Supra HV-R, a converted Super GT racer that's powered by a 480-horsepower V8 augmented by a regenerative braking system, a pair of in-wheel electric motors in front and a single motor in back, took the pole for the race. Barring any mechanical or on-track mishaps, we would not be surprised to see the HV-R in the mix for the overall win when the checkered flag comes waves late tonight/tomorrow morning.

UPDATE: After 12 hours of racing, the Supra is in first place overall. As of hour 12, the track is wet and it's raining at Tokachi.

UPDATE 2: After 20 hours of racing, the hybrid Supra remains in the lead, having completed 507 laps. The second place car has completed 492.

UPDATE 3: With 2 hours to go, the Supra HV-R has expanded its lead. it is now 17 laps up on the second- and third-place cars.

[Source: SARD]