Retro tech
For decades it looked like an idea that didn’t quite work for cars. And now it’s everywhere. What changed?
History’s key hybrids
1901 Ferdinand Porsche’s Lohner-Porsche
After some experiments with pure electric propulsion, Ferdinand Porsche adds a petrol-fuelled generator to his horseless carriage, and lo the hybrid car is born, making about 10bhp and weighing 1.5 tonnes. And lo everybody ignores the idea a very long time…
2012 Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4
The world’s first production diesel hybrid. Makes sense: start with something more economical than petrol, and add an electric motor in the boot capable of electric-only silent running. E ective, and great for dodging taxes and congestion charges, if not actually nice to drive. Then as now, nobody knows what’s going on with the ‘HYbrid4’ typography.
2014 Porsche 919
A Le Mans rule change prompts Porsche to come up with a 2.0-litre V4 endurance racer using two hybrid systems: one drawing on braking energy from the front wheels, the other recovering thermal energy from exhaust gases. Then, for the hell of it, Porsche makes the 919 Hybrid Evo – ineligible for racing, but highly adept at breaking all sorts of lap records.
2019 Ferrari SF90 Stradale
Barely an eyebrow gets raised at the arrival of a full-production Ferrari plug-in hybrid, following on from the KERS-assisted limited-run LaFerrari. With Porsche and even Lotus – Lotus! – embracing BEVs, a hybrid seems almost quaint. A 3.9-litre V8 is assisted by three electric motors (one driving each front wheel, one behind the driver with the engine and transmission) for a peak of 986bhp.
1997 Enter the Prius
96 years on, some smart engineers in Japan figure out how to make a hybrid both practical and a ordable. The first Prius is ugly and dynamically du , but it sets a template that changes the world (Honda’s tasty but less practical Insight is unveiled the same year). Prius’s power-split device deftly juggles the electric motor and petrol power.
The Prius opens the door to frugal and environmentally virtuous hybrids, but McLaren sees other potential in the tech: add an e-motor to plug any gaps in the power delivery from the twin-turbo V8 and take the total output to 903bhp. It’s the world’s first plug-in hybrid supercar, and it’s epic.
2015 Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid
For the 2014 season the F1 teams have to melt down their naturally-aspirated 2.4 V8s and hammer them into 1.6-litre turbo V6s with KERS assistance. Mercedes aces the technology immediately. And then gets even better for 2015.