Toyota has unveiled its much-anticipated Le Mans Hypercar, becoming the first manufacturer to officially unveil the new generation of top prototypes.
The car, named the GR010 Hybrid, has been developed over a period of 18 months in a joint effort between Toyota Gazoo Racing’s headquarters in Cologne, Germany and the hybrid powertrain experts at the Higashi-Fuji facility in Japan.
“It is a fascinating time for endurance racing, with the new Le Mans Hypercar class, and also for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, with the launch of the GR010 HYBRID,” said Hisatake Murata, Toyota Gazoo Racing Team President. “This car represents our next generation of racing hybrid. During our LMP1 era, since 2012, we worked tirelessly to improve and strengthen our hybrid technology for racing.”
“We set new standards with the TS050 HYBRID and our first loop of racing hybrid development is complete; this technology will be available to our future customers soon.
“Now the second stage will begin. Through our WEC participation, we will refine our racing hybrid powertrain in the GR010 HYBRID, enhance our understanding of hypercar technology and continually develop our staff. We do this with one clear goal: to deliver more exciting sportscars to our customers in the future.”
“The GR010 HYBRID is a preview of our road-going cars and what we learn on the WEC race tracks will directly benefit our customers.”
“For this reason, we are delighted to welcome new competitors to the top category of WEC; a tough fight on the track will inspire us to continuously improve and push the limits for better.”
The Le Mans Hypercar features a four-wheel drive hybrid powertrain, with a 680PS, 3.5 liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine powering the rear wheels. The front wheels are powered by 272PS motor generator unit. As regulations cap the power output of the car at 680PS, Toyota says that ‘sophisticated electronics reduce engine power according to the amount of hybrid boost deployed.’
As part of these regulations, the GR010 Hybrid is 162 kilograms heavier than its precedessor, the TS050 Hybrid LMP1 car. Toyota claims the car also has 32% less power than the TS050, causing Le Mans lap times to drop by an expected ten seconds. It also has bigger dimensions than the TS050 Hybrid; it is 250mm longer, 100mm wider and 100mm higher.
In contrast to its LMP1 predecessors, the GR010 Hybrid also features only a single motor generator unit. Previous cars also featured an MGU on the rear axle, but Hypercar regulations only allow a single MGU on the front axle. This means that the car needs a starter motor, as well as fully hydraulic rear brakes.
“The new regulations are designed to showcase road-relevant technology in WEC whilst also delivering a top-level, attractive spectacle,” said technical director Pascal Vasselon. “We are looking forward to welcoming new competitors and being part of an exciting future for endurance racing with our GR010 HYBRID.
“The new Le Mans Hypercar regulations mean the GR010 HYBRID is a completely new car, designed to a different philosophy. A major difference is the architecture of the hybrid system; we will have one kinetic energy recovery system and brake-by-wire, on the front axle. This means we had to install a starter motor and fully hydraulic rear brakes for the first time in our WEC project.
“Following the regulations, our car will have one bodywork specification to handle all circuits, so we needed to provide a wider working window for this car.”
“These are just examples; there have been many such differences and challenges to address during development, so it has been an interesting engineering challenge. Now we are all looking forward to continuing our testing programme and finally seeing our new car compete; I think it will be worth the wait.”
Unchanged driver line-up for 2021 season
Toyota will field an unchanged driver line-up for the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship, the team has confirmed.
2019/20 world champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López will team up to drive the #7 GR010 Hybrid, while Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley have been retained to drive the #8 car. Nyck de Vries has been retained as test and reserve driver.
“Everyone is excited to see the GR010 HYBRID racing for the first time,” said world champion Mike Conway. “It’s always cool to drive a race car for the first time and a nice challenge to get used to all the small differences.
“I have been surprised how good the car feels after just a few days testing; I already feel at home in it. It is a fantastic experience to be part of racing developments which will be translated into future road cars. The whole team is motivated by that and looking forward to show the car to the fans this season.”
“To start the new season as World Champion is cool; it gives all three of us on #7 a nice boost. But it’s one thing to win a title and another to retain it. The goal is to win the championship again and also get the big one; Le Mans.”
Toyota will debut its new car during the opening round of the WEC, the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March. Rob Leupen, Toyota Gazoo Racing team director, says that the manufacturer is excited to share the car with the world.
“It has been a tremendous effort from the team in Higashi-Fuji and Cologne, as well as our suppliers and partners, to develop and produce this new car, despite the difficult global circumstances, and we are all looking forward to show it to the world,” said Leupen. “The Le Mans Hypercar category represents a new era, with a different philosophy and new competitors; we are looking forward to this challenge.
“Balance of performance is something we have not experienced before in WEC but we know from our other projects that it puts the emphasis on fast drivers, perfect operations and optimal strategy.
“Over our nine years in WEC we have achieved a lot, but are not complacent. We always challenge ourselves to improve our technology and our processes to continuously perform better.
So we have been working intensively and will continue to do so in the remaining tests before our long-awaited race debut with the GR010 HYBRID in Sebring.
“We look forward to finally showing our new car to the fans and being part of this new, exciting era.”
