F1 Tech Is About to Make Buses Way More Efficient
The same technology that helped Audi’s amazing R18 e-tron Quattro race car win the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans will make buses throughout England a lot more fuel efficient.
The GKN Hybrid Power Gyrodrive is an electric flywheel that captures energy as the car brakes, then uses it to drive an electric motor that boosts power and cuts fuel consumption. It was developed by Williams Hybrid Power, a division of the company that owns the Williams Formula 1 team. Williams first used it on its F1 cars and supplied it to other manufacturers. It has been used in the Audi R18 and Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, for example.
In April, Williams sold the technology (and the team that developed it) to British automotive and aerospace conglomerate GKN for about $13.5 million and a cut of sales. Now it’s up to the 55-man team at GKN Hybrid Power to get the system onto the mass market and let English bus drivers enjoy the added performance racing drivers have been enjoying for years.
s a m h o c h b e r g - m e t i c u l o u s l y r a n d o m i z e d 