Think the Toyota Prius was the first hybrid automobile ever made? Think again. Honda Insight? Keep guessing. In reality, the world’s first hybrid was designed and built by none other than Ferdinand Porsche, founding father of the present-day Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart. That’s right, the same brain that brought us such ingenious machinery as the Volkswagen Beetle and the glorious Auto Union racers built the world’s first fully functional hybrid automobile.

Now that the modern-day Porsche brain-trust is once again showing interest in hybrid technology, the German company has decided to bring back the 1900 Semper Vivus, which literally means always alive. Although the technology behind hybrids has come a long way – Porsche’s first hybrid used about 4,000 pounds of lead acid batteries and could barely climb any kind of grade – the basic principles are actually much the same.

To wit, just like that original Semper Vivus, Porsche’s latest hybrid, the 2012 Panamera S Hybrid, features an engine (in this case a supercharged V6 putting out 333 horsepower), an electric motor (which adds another 47 horses) and a battery pack. All the major bits and pieces are the same, except with massive improvements in power and efficiency.

In celebration of 111 years of hybrid automobiles, Porsche spent the past four years recreating the Semper Vivus, and it will show off the fruits of its labor at the rapidly approaching 2011 Geneva Motor Show. In an effort to whet our appetites, the automaker has released a teaser video that you can see for yourself after the break, along with the requisite press release.

[Source: Porsche]

Continue reading Video: Porsche resurrects 1900 Semper Vivus full-hybrid for Geneva display

Video: Porsche resurrects 1900 Semper Vivus full-hybrid for Geneva display originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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