Gazoo Racing Lexus CT 200h Nurburgring Racer

Tomorrow (14 May) Lexus hybrid hatchback will take on the Nurburgring endurance race to make the presence of company’s hybrid racers known.

The GAZOO Racing CT as it’s known is powered by the same Lexus Hybrid Drive as the road car but with a higher capacity 2.4-litre petrol engine instead of the usual 1.8 unit. At start-up and under braking, the race car uses just its electric motor, producing zero tailpipe emissions and using no fuel. The sophisticated system is also capable of intelligently selects the most appropriate power source and also captures energy through regenerative braking to charge the battery, which in turn powers the electric motor.

It may not be just as fast as other cars in this category, but it uses much less fuel which

means it can stay out on the track and do more laps. As you know in endurance racing it’s the number of laps you do that counts.

The GAZOO Racing CT driver line-up features three experienced pilots: Kumi Sato, a female racer who competed in a Lexus IS 250 in 2008; Masahiko Kageyama, who previously supported Toyota’s vehicle development programme; and MinoruTakaki, who is responsible for production vehicle development. The CT is competing in the Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, contested over six hours.