PORSCHE announced it would continue to invest in the “development of innovative drive technologies” in motor sports as the carmaker unveiled a more developed version of its 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which will return to racetracks in 2012. Porsche said that with this “rolling race laboratory,” it intends to gain more experience under racing conditions and make the hybrid drive even more efficient.

“There is no way around the hybrid technology in motor sports,” stressed Wolfgang Hatz, a Porsche board member for research and development. “With the 911 GT3 R Hybrid project, we have shown how you can test important future technologies on the racetrack and pave the way for motor sport success in the future. We will continue to determinedly blaze this trail and further develop the hybrid technology.”

This season’s 911 GT3 RSR is five centimeters wider at the rear and has front fenders that bulged 15 centimeters more. The car will be fielded by Porsche customer teams in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series, the International GT Open, as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours. In the US, four new vehicles will be fielded by three different teams, according to Porsche.

It added that, like in previous years, the company will continue to support its most successful customer teams with works drivers, which this season include Jorg Bergmeister, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Wolf Henzler, Marco Holzer, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Patrick Long and Patrick Pilet.

“To win races you have to have the right race drivers, said Matthias Müller, Porsche’s chairman of the executive board. “And there’s no doubt that we have them.”

Porsche said that most of its factory drivers will start the season at the Daytona 24-hour race on January 28, with Bergmeister and Long racing for Flying Lizard Motorsports, Holzer for the Alex Job squad, Henzler and Pilet for the TRG team, Lieb for Brumos Racing, and Lietz for Magnus Racing.