Just over a month ago at the Detroit Grand Prix weekend, Corsa Motorsports announced its intention compete in the ALMS LMP1 class with a hybrid-powered race car built in England by Zytek. The new car was supposed to debut this weekend at the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta. Unfortunately, earlier this week, the Utah-based team decided that the hybrid system wasn't quite ready for primetime. According to a release on the team's website, they are confident in the safety of the system, but the reliability is still a concern. Therefore, Zytek is continuing to exercise the system on its dynamometers until they are confident that the system can run the full race distance. In the meantime, Corsa, which is moving up from the GT2 class where it has been running a Ferrari F430GT, is running the Zytek chassis with a conventional E10-fueled 4.0L V8. Hopefully, we'll see the hybrid system running at the 2009 season opener at Sebring.

[Source: Corsa Motorsports]

Here at the Detroit Grand Prix today, Corsa Motorsports announced their intention to debut a hybrid powered sports car in the LMP1 class at the Petit Le Mans in October. Corsa will be using a chassis developed by Zytek with an E10/electric hybrid powertrain. The 10-hour race at Road Atlanta on October 4 will also mark the debut of the Green Challenge were the teams will be judged on their fuel consumption and overall environmental impact. Corsa hopes to make a good showing as part of the Green Challenge.

Zytek has designed a new E10-fueled 4.5L V8 that will be paired up with a three phase induction motor and six speed gear box. The car will feature regenerative braking with energy stored in a lithium ion battery provided by Continental Automotive. Track testing of the car started in July at the Donington Park track in the UK and the car will soon be shipped to the U.S. for its race debut. Corsa is planning to run the entire 2009 ALMS season with the new car.

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

Xtrac, the company that brought us the transmission for the JCB Dieselmax land speed record, will be showing off a new hybrid powertrain transmission at the Autosport International Show at the Birmingham NEC in the U.K. The show runs today and tomorrow.

The transmission will be paired with a Zytek-designed hybrid powertrain. The company claims that the system will be inexpensive enough to be commercially viable in small family cars.

The powertrain will meet the requirements of the Ultra Low Carbon Car Challenge in the U.K. To qualify, a car must be able to fit an entire family, have CO2 emissions of under 100g/km and return fuel consumption of 75mpg or better.

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[Source: Auto Industry UK]

Having built engines for almost every class of racing up to and including Formula One, Zytek is company long familiar to racing fans. They have also done development work on road vehicles for various manufacturers. Lithium Technology Corporation is a manufacturer of lithium-ion battery systems. The two companies have now teamed up to build an experimental diesel hybrid based on a Smart ForFour (which is no longer in production).

The project was funded by Energy Saving Trust as part of the Low Carbon Car Challenge to the tune of £1.8 million. Zytek has modified the 1.5L turbo-diesel Smart with two permanent magnet electric motors and the battery system. The 288V lithium ion battery can output 25 kW of power to drive the car about 20 miles on electricity alone. The combination of the diesel and regenerative braking allow the car to achieve over 70 mpg (US).

[Source: BusinessWire via GreenCarCongress]

And now for a little look inside the recently announced the SMART EV. DaimlerChrysler's tiny SMART EV will be powered by an electric drivetrain developed by British company Zytek. The drivetrain uses rare-earth magnet technology, a DC motor, and regenerative braking system for a claimed range of 72 miles. The maximum speed of the SMART EV will be electronically limited to 70 mph. Zytek claims the SMART EV "provides all the safety features and dynamic ability of the standard smart fortwo, but with zero vehicle emissions" and slashed fuel costs. Initially, about 200 SMART EVs will be built and will be leased to selected corporate customers starting in November.

[Source: Zytek]

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