When most people think of hybrid vehicles, they imagine practical, mild-mannered vehicles. But could we soon seehybrid race cars burning up the tracks?

In March of 2010, Porsche unveiled three hybrids at the Geneva Auto Show – one for the road, one for the race track and one that is a genuine Porsche supercar. These innovative new Porsches – the Cayenne S Hybrid, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the 918 Spyder – show that hybrids can be sporty, fast and powerful.

The Cayenne S, Porsche’s first production hybrid, features a sophisticated parallel full hybrid system with the combined power of a 380 horsepower V6 combustion engine and an electric motor. The car has the potential to significantly enhance fuel economy at high speeds – when the driver lifts off the accelerator at cruising or highway speeds, the gasoline engine can be switched off and disengaged from the drivetrain, enabling the vehicle to move along without combustion or electric power.

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