Racing to the road

Toyota's GR010 Hypercar is not just a contender for the World Endurance Championship, it is a rolling test bed for numerous technologies destined for use in Toyota cars, including the next generation of hybrid drive

THERE is an old adage about motor racing making road cars better, 'racing improves the breed', referring to advances in your everyday car, thanks to a company's involvement in motorsport.

These include not just engine and driveline enhancements, such as Peugeot developing the double over head cam (DOHC) head for competition at Indianapolis more than 100 years ago, or the use of turbochargers and superchargers, but also safety items like seatbelts.

Fast forward to the 21st Century, and there is still plenty of crossover between race cars and road cars, both under the bonnet and inside the cabin.

Honda applies lessons learned in motor racing to road going cars, including the hybrid drive system, like this one in the Honda Accord.

THE biggest development in the last 10 years is the integration of internal combustion engines with electric motors to create modern hybrid drives, not surprisingly with companies who are active in motor racing at the forefront of development.

Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai are among this group, who are implementing lessons learned in competition into the current and future generations of road-going vehicles.

With hybrid drive systems in Formula One and IndyCar single-seat racers and World Endurance Championship and IMSA sports car competition, these manufacturers, plus others, including Ferrari and Porsche, have (pardon the pun, please!) accelerated their understanding of dual powertrains, and the benefits are being seen on the showroom floor.

Originally, hybrid systems were an add-on to the primary internal combustion engine, boosting outputs, although the delivery was somewhat akin to flicking a light switch - a bit like a 1980s turbo car.

Now though, the focus is on greater use of the electric drive as the primary motive source, with the combustion engine, petrol or diesel generally, acting as a boost, or as a generator to charge the batteries.

This is where integration becomes key, and the blending of power is the main consideration for engineers.

Fans (like me!) of the World Endurance Championship, or WEC, would know of the rule that limits the maximum power, with manufacturers free to split it between internal combustion and electric drive.

Power delivery is monitored by torque sensors mounted on driveshafts, ensuring everyone has the same amount of available power, regardless of how it is made, making for spectacular racing.

Road car manufacturer hybrid drive specification sheets talk about maximum power, which is often less than the combined total of the contributing power units, with electronic controllers in charge of blending the outputs.

These controllers are so good, it is a challenge to pick where the power is coming from, or to detect the switch between power units.

Hyundai is another manufacturer applying lessons from the race track to new road cars, such as the 2025 Tucson Hybrid

Recent experience with Toyota/Lexus, Honda and Hyundai demonstrates the smoothness of the systems, the only way to know for sure sometimes is to watch the rev counter or power flow meter screen, which shows the actual changes between combustion engines and electric motors, or the blending of the two sources.

While these units would undoubtedly have been improved over time, the pace of their development is a direct reflection of manufacturers applying the lessons of the racetrack.

Genesis has replaced the external mirrors with cameras, presenting drivers with a high quality wide angle view to eliminate blind spots

INSIDE the car, an area that has seen a radical change is the use of digital 'mirrors', with screens replacing traditional glass reflectors.

Again, this is a direct boost from the racetrack, with both NASCAR stock cars - once the last bastion of the low tech race car - and WEC-style sports cars making use of the system.

Basically, the cars use an 'always on' rear facing camera to provide a clearer picture of approaching and closely following cars, with sensors highlighting cars as they enter blindspots, to help drivers avoid high speed contacts.

This is new ground for road cars, although both Genesis and Mazda have implemented the tech in mainstream models.

Having sampled the production version, it is good gear, and didn't take long to adapt to, just a few hours at most.

On the Genesis, the external door mirrors have been replaced by rear-looking wide angle cameras, mounted on stalks where the mirrors used to sit, the images are displayed on screens near the A-Pillars.

The biggest adjustment was looking for the display inside the car, rather than outside, once you train yourself to look in a different place, the screens felt natural.

Driving in normal daylight conditions, the screens did not feel much different to the previous mirrors, however they came into their own at night, with auto-dimming technology compensating for bright headlights, while a low light function actually improved the quality of the images.

Mazda's high definition digital rear mirror is anothrer example of race car technology appearing in road cars

This was reinforced when we tested Mazda's CX-90 large SUV, which had a digital internal mirror, with images provided by a camera mounted in the tailgate handle.

The strangest part of the Mazda system was not seeing the back seat while talking with passengers, because the camera is outside the car, I could hear and talk to my son, but to see him, I had to physically turn my head!

Just like the Hyundai/Genesis system, the images were high quality, to the point where I could clearly see the driver of the car behind me, even in bright light.

The camera also compensated for low light and dimmed bright headlights, preventing the 'dazzle' effect of badly adjusted lights, or those drivers who neglected to drop high beams - accidentally, I am sure.

Best of all, when driving in rain, the camera is sheltered and the image remained clear, providing a much clearer picture of what was happening behind me than any mirror ever displayed.

The Mazda had the option to return to using the traditional internal mirror, however after a day of driving with the digital unit, I was a fan, and remained with the camera system, in all driving conditions.

So, when you see that latest gizmo and think it is just a gimmick, stop and think for a moment - is this another track-bred enhancement making its way into road cars?

This is not to say companies without motorsport programmes are behind the eight ball, they are not, all manufacturers invest significant sums every year on research and development, there is one advantage to motor racing, it acts as a fast track (sorry, couldn't avoid it!) for testing new technology.