On a pathway through a paddock carved out of space between the Detroit River and the Motor City’s signature Renaissance Center machines representing the power of petrol make their way to the city-street track for this this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix races.
Those sleek speed brutes aren’t all the same, however. A bright blue car sports a tag on its wing revealing it’s not only liquid fuel that will energize its high-performance engines.
That tag has just three words—“Hybrid electrified Bosch.” It signifies that racer is a LeMans Daytona hybrid vehicle powered by a standardized hybrid-electric system developed by German auto tech company Bosch in conjunction with the International Motor Sports Association, or IMSA.
Through that partnership, LMDh cars are the first North America hybrids eligible to compete in Grand Touring Prototype, or GTP, class races.
On this day amid the bustle of pre-Prix practice laps and other important preparations the head of IMSA and Bosch engineers explained the technical attributes of the Bosch hybrid system in the context of the event at hand, but the truth is, the automakers who pour millions into racing machines are hoping the technology that vies for a spot in the winner’s circle will eventually win sales at the showrooms.
“It is a laboratory for me. You know the things that we learned here, sometimes by failure. But when things break at the racetrack, especially in racing format it’s sort of like okay, what did we learn here today to make it better for the racetrack but think down the road to the next consumer products. That’s why we’re doing this and I think that’s why the OEMs are doing it,” said John Doonan, IMSA president during a media briefing on Bosch’s hybrid technology.
Transferring knowledge gained from the race track to street vehicles is a long-held practice, whether it’s tires, engines, fuels or technology.
In the case of the Bosch hybrid system in current LMDh vehicles, a number of features that add power, reduce weight and improve performance may find their way to consumer vehicles.
“Really, what we’re doing on track is accelerating what that technology is going to look like on the road,” explained Jacob Bergenske, director, Bosch Motorsport. “We have a very light hybrid, which means we have a very compact small battery. But in order to have that much power, you have to basically be able to load that thing charging very, very, very quickly, and the technology in order to do that, it’s completely state of the art on the racetrack right now. That’s what is also a major contributor to us extracting efficiency out of this system.”
The advances in hybrid powertrain technology Bosch and IMSA are evaluating come at a time when consumers who are not interested in, or quite ready, to give up their internal combustion engine vehicles for electric vehicles seem to be open to the sort of happy medium hybrids may offer.
In KPMG’S “American Perspectives Survey” only one in five consumers said they would prefer an electric vehicle, compared with 43% who said assuming costs and features were equal, they’d buy a hybrid. Conventional internal combustion vehicles were the top choice at 38%.
Indeed, while some industry watchers consider hybrids a stepping stone for buyers before making the plunge to a vehicle powered only by a battery, Bosch’s director of powertrain solutions posits advancements in hybrid technology may satisfy some consumers’ desire for a sustainable vehicle.
“Basically NOX, the smog, pollutants, that we have can also be reduced by the hybrid technology,” said Mohammad Fatouraie. “Very simply, you are optimizing how the engine is operating and eliminating the areas that engine would have pipe pollutants because now you have a very powerful system that can augment the torque and power requirements that you need so that you are basically running your engine at a very optimal point.”
Improving efficiency also includes reducing battery size and weight and by using silicon carbide chips, which Bosch plans to begin producing in the U.S. by 2026, noted Fatouraie.
In terms of electric power capability, the Bosch hybrid system is capable of one an attractive feature of some battery electric pickup trucks.
“Now you have the power plant in your vehicle that can power your house,” Fatouraie said.
He notes, however, for certain uses, such as commuting or running erranda, EVs are a good choice. In fact, Fatouraie says he owns one.
This weekend, the LMDh vehicles identified by the “Hybrid electrified Bosch” tag will vie for a win on the Grand Prix through the streets of downtown Detroit, with the longer range goal of using what’s learned on the track to producing better performing hybrids that will win at the showroom.
