Gallery: History of hybrid cars in motorsport
Hybrid racing cars may have become commonplace only recently, but their presence in motorsport harks back to the late 1990s.

Exactly 20 years ago American high-performance car manufacturer Panoz made history when it debuted the Q9 GTR-1 Hybrid at the Le Mans 24 Hours. But perhaps the car was ahead of its time and it would take another 10 years before the next hybrid machine contested a race.
Nowadays hybrid technologies have become sophisticated to the point that they form the core of Formula 1 and FIA World Endurance Championship regulations.
F1 added KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) as an optional feature in 2009, before making a switch to full-hybrids in '14. Endurance racing's hybrid era started two years earlier in 2012, when the new-formed WEC series made hybrids mandatory for all manufacturers in the top-tier LMP1 class.
In addition to F1 and WEC, hybrid racing cars can also be seen in the GT300 class of Super GT, Japan's premier sportscar championship.
1998 Panoz Q9

Photo by: Motorsport Images
2007 Denso Sard Supra HR-V

Photo by: Toyota
2009 Corsa Motorsport Ginetta-Zytec 09HS

Photo by: Jeff Kapic
2009 McLaren MP4/24

Photo by: Sutton Images
2010 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid

Photo by: Andy Chan
2011 Oreca Swiss HY Tech-Hybrid

Photo by: Eric Gilbert
2011 Red Bull Racing RB7

Photo by: Sutton Images
2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro

Photo by: ACO/Nikon
2012 Toyota TS030 Hybrid

Photo by: Ed Fahey
2012 Toyota Prius GT

Photo by: Hisao Sakakibara
2012 Honda CR-Z GT

Photo by: Andy Chan
2014 Mercedes AMG W05 Hybrid

Photo by: Sutton Images
2014- 15 Honda NSX Concept GT

Photo by: Nakajima Racing
2018 Toyota TS050 Hybrid

Photo by: Toyota Racing

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Series | General |
Author | Aditya Siregar |
Gallery: History of hybrid cars in motorsport
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