The petrol-electric Camry will pace a 600 mile (960 km) race around a one and a half mile (2.4 km) oval in North Carolina on May 24. It will also pace five other NASCAR Cup events this year, becoming the first hybrid used as the official pace car for an entire event in the premier NASCAR Cup series.

Toyota's Hybrid Camry, which will be built in the company's Altona, Melbourne plant and go on sale here early next year, has passed all the performance tests required by NASCAR.

Pace cars must meet performance standards, including being able to reach 100 mph (160 km/h) in a quarter of a mile (403 metres) on a banked track from a standing start near the pit-road exit.

Ed Laukes, corporate manager for motor sports marketing at Toyota Motor Sales USA, said "There are misconceptions about hybrid technology among the public that we're trying to erase. This is a way for us to demonstrate the hybrid used on the track is the exact same car you can buy in a showroom."

The Hybrid Camry is powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor with combined output of approximately 140 kW. Fuel consumption is about 7 litres/100km when measured to American standards. Figures are still to be calculated for Australian vehicles, but are likely to be similar.