Revhead Ramblings: Why Your Next Performance Car Will Feature Hybrid Technology

There’s no escaping it, hybrid cars are the future of performance cars. Excluding the P1, 918 and LaFerrari, all petrolheads hearts will be filled with dread. It’s the first step to euthanising our beloved internal combustion engine.

Just five years ago, electric power was seen as a means of boosting efficiency and nothing more. Now, electric motors can be found in our favourite machines to enhance performance with their instant torque boost.

Changing Trends

BMW has not ruled out hybrid electric power for their next run of M cars, they said adding four-wheel drive was a huge shock to the car world but people grew to love it, they feel the same will happen with the electric boost as well.

Other manufacturers are following suit, Audi and AMG are both looking at electrification to add more power to their performance lines. AMG are set to release their ‘53’ range of cars, featuring hybrid power.

The Main Issue

If you take a look at the biggest reveals at car shows so far this year, the headlines revolve around electric vehicles, it shows a large proportion of manufacturers have started or are already working on electric powertrains to deliver a performance advantage rather than purely to satisfy the government.

Our cars are becoming heavier, there’s no denying that, our technology requirements mean cars weigh twice as much as their descendants once weighed. We also demand faster and faster cars, adding a bigger engine is no longer a viable answer so hybridisation seems to be the perfect medium. Greater horsepower and huge low-down grunt with the benefits of a green car.

Tobias Moers, AMG’s CEO said, “EV will provide us with the performance we need an AMG to deliver. There is room between the 60KW motor in the CLS53 and the 800KW motor from the Project One. The V8 is still at the heart of AMG but it needs some level of electrification to continue with it.”

Customer Reaction 

Manufacturers have to tread carefully when introducing these new powertrains, many are first offering them as a further option to their petrol or diesel variants. So as not to alienate their current clients too much. BMW are a perfect example of this, their M-Sport cars account for 50 percent of their UK sales, so while electrification is being pushed massively, they must be careful not to mess with the formula as attracting new customers isn’t worth losing loyal ones.

Overview

Each manufacturer wants their performance arm to be the best, so naturally they’ll try any new technology to get ahead of the competition. However, as more and more money is pumped into researching hybrid technology, you have to ask yourself if this is the best method? One of the main reasons we’re turning to electrification is because we need more power. However, this wouldn’t be a requirement if the cars themselves were lighter.

Therefore, when people come to buy a car they have to make a choice, they can have all of their electric features and sacrifice on speed. Or, they can opt for more basic controls and have a leaner car that will be genuinely fun to drive.

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