Toyota released official pictures and details of its all-new Le Mans racing car, the TS030 HYBRID.
That’s right, it’s a hybrid race car, and it’s set to steal the show from the diesel-powered Audi’s at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Normal petrol-powered LMP1 race cars are, apparently, obsolete.
The Cologne-based Toyota Motorsport GmbH and the TS030 will make their race debut on 5 May in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Then they enter Le Mans big race with two cars, but participation in further rounds is yet to be confirmed.
Driver lineup for one of the cars is already confirmed with Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima, while discussions are still ongoing to finalise the driver line-up for the other. Additionally, Andrea Caldarelli, from Pescara, Italy, has joined Toyota Racing as a junior driver.
On its comeback to Le Mans Toyota is making history by introducing the first hybrid car on the grid. The Ts030 is an spiritual successor to the TS010 and TS020 of the 90s. The car features an all-new V8 3.4litre normally-aspirated petrol engine and hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo. TMG has developed a brand new carbon fibre LMP1 chassis for this car.