{"id":33413,"date":"2024-10-01T09:13:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33413"},"modified":"2024-10-01T09:13:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:13:52","slug":"world-champion-of-hybrids-how-honda-is-going-hybrid-in-racing-and-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/world-champion-of-hybrids-how-honda-is-going-hybrid-in-racing-and-production","title":{"rendered":"‘World champion of hybrids’: How Honda is going hybrid in racing and production"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nashville<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.<\/p>\n

Honda\u2019s first hybrid IndyCar won big at the season finale here at the Big Michigan Music City Grand Prix Sept. 15 as Colton Herta took the checkered flag first \u2014 and Alex Palou clinched the overall driver’s championship. And for customers who want a hybrid Honda of their own for the street, 2025 Civic Hybrids are now on sale across the brand\u2019s North American showrooms, anchoring a hybrid lineup that includes Civic, Accord sedan and CR-V SUV.<\/p>\n

Automakers have long used the race track as a marketing tool and engineering test bed for their production programs and the electrification era is no different. Driving towards its \u201cSecond Founding\u201d \u2014 a battery-powered future by 2040 \u2014 Honda is particularly aggressive in integrating its hybrid IndyCar program and street vehicles. But the challenges of racing present to electric drivetrains also expose how far battery-powered cars have to go to compete with their gas-powered brethren.<\/p>\n

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#10 Alex Palou’s hybrid, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in the pits at Nashville.<\/em><\/div>\n
Michael L. Levitt, Honda<\/em><\/div>\n

\u201cThe automotive world is flipping on its head at the moment. There are loads of cool things happening in racing in terms of electrification. We have alternate fuels that are 60% carbon neutral; we have hybrid systems; the tire manufacturer is looking at renewable tires . . . there is a lot of stuff that goes into it,\u201d said David Salters, who leads Honda\u2019s North American racing programs as president of Honda Racing Corporation USA. \u201cHonda has all these really smart engine people with a goal. Honda uses racing to develop that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Honda charts a path to an all-electric model lineup by 2040, it has been aggressive in pushing hybrid-powered vehicles as a bridge to that future. That strategy has dovetailed with three of the most prestigious racing series in the world \u2013 Formula One, IndyCar, and IMSA sportscar racing \u2014 which feature hybrid powertrains.<\/p>\n

\u201cRacing is core to our DNA,\u201d said Honda & Acura Motorsports Manager Chuck Schifsky. \u201cRacing is often the perfect test bed for new technology and engineers. It is common for us to integrate our racing learnings and successes into our marketing to show how this helps us develop better mobility products for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honda has partnered with F1\u2019s dominant team, Red Bull, on a hybrid powertrains since 2019 \u2014 and will take on a new partner in 2026 when the series moves to an updated 50-50 gas-electric power unit.<\/p>\n

\"Colton<\/figure>\n
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Colton Herta, Andretti Global w\/ Curb-Agajanian Honda, wins the IndyCar season finale in Nashville.<\/em><\/div>\n
Phillip Abbott, Honda<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On the IndyCar front, Honda is one of two powertrain manufacturers (General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet is the other) and was a driving force in pushing the series to go hybrid this year. The IndyCar system was co-engineered by Honda, Chevrolet, race engine manufacturer Ilmor and IndyCar.<\/p>\n

Honda has entered the hybrid hypercar class in IMSA under the banner of its Acura premium brand. GM also races in the hypercar series with its hybrid Cadillac V-Series.R. Unlike Honda, GM has dropped hybrid powertrains in its production vehicles, choosing instead to pursue an all-electric strategy by 2035 (though it is reassessing that model given slow EV sales).<\/p>\n

Notably, neither manufacturer supports Formula E, the international, all-electric, open-wheel racing series. \u201cHonda is not looking to enter an all-electric series,\u201d said Schifsky. \u201cWe feel that competing in the electrified series of F1, INDYCAR and IMSA help us develop better engineers and mobility products for our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

IndyCar race driver Linus Lundqvist, who races with the Chip Ganassi team, is intrigued by the new hybrid system. \u201cFrom a drivers point of view, the hybrid has been an amazing development for IndyCar. It\u2019s done two things: One, it keep (drivers) a lot more busy because we\u2019re having to stay on top of the energy management systems, both regeneration and deploy . . . and, two, from the team\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s changed how you fundamentally set up the car. Not only do we deal with more power from the energy system, but it\u2019s also a weight distribution change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Honda Racing NA boss David Salter (left) celebrates Honda’s first hybrid IndyCar championship with #10 driver Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, in Nashville.<\/em><\/div>\n
Honda\/Phillip Abbott<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

One of the biggest engineering challenges of electrified drivetrains is managing voltage. The 800-volt hybrid systems (comparable to 800-volt systems used in production EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N) require extensive driver and racetrack crew safety training given the deadly consequences if a human comes in contact with high voltage.<\/p>\n