Toyota reveals 950PS Le Mans hypercar

Confirming that the new car is powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine, Toyota added that the new car weighs in at 1,040kg, meaning that its combined 952PS (700kW) gives the GR010 a near 1,000PS per tonne power to weight ratio. Impressive, although nowhere near the TS050, which weighed 162kg less with around a third more power.

The 2021 car is based upon the upcoming GR Super Sports road car, itself based upon technology drawn from the record breaking TS050 – the fastest car to ever lap Le Mans. The engine, a petrol V6, will power just the rear wheels, producing 680PS (500kW), while the hybrid system will boost the front axle only with another 272PS (200kW). Power output during race weekends will be limited by the rules to 680PS (500kW) meaning that the GR010 has electronics to limit its output and manage the balance between hybrid and combustion power.

As part of major cost cutting initiatives that saw the birth of the new LMH class, the GR010 is now bigger and heavier than its predecessor, as well as being less powerful. As a result Toyota expects lap times at Le Mans to be around 10 seconds slower than 2020 – with the ACO and FIA aiming for a 3 minute 30 second lap time for all top level cars.

Another major change for the GR010 is the lack of rear hybrid motor, which means a new hydraulic braking system has had to be developed, to work alongside the recovery unit on the front axle, rather than relying on the brake-by-wire systems developed for the TS050 and its dual hybrid units. Power from the V6 is routed through a seven-speed sequential gearbox, with less hybrid power available the GR010 has had to be given a starter motor as well. The old TS050 was able to set off on electric power only, before bump-starting its petrol engine while it was on the move.

Also changing for 2021 is the specification of a single aero set up. Before teams were allowed to develop two different setups – one for low and one for high downforce, with the former mostly used for the high-speed assault that is the Circuit de la Sarthe. Now a single aerodynamic package must be homologated for the full season.

The GR010, as well as LMH competitors from Glickenhaus and ByKolles and the grandfathered LMP1 entry from Alpine, will compete with a new Balance of Performance from the organisers. This aims to balance the four cars competing in 2021 together and will also look to make sure the cars compete on an equal playing field with the upcoming LMDh cars which will arrive to compete from 2023 as well as Peugeot’s new LMH entry in 2022.

Toyota has retained its sextet of drivers from the 2019/20 season, with Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López driving the #7 car and Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendan Hartley in the #8. Ex-Formula 2 champion and Mercedes Formula E drive Nyck De Vries will act as the team’s test and reserve driver.

The 2021 World Endurance Championship returns to a single-year format, after two seasons of winter scheduling ending in the Le Mans 24 Hours. The COVID-19 pandemic meant an elongation of the previous season, with the postponement of Le Mans and cancellation of other rounds meaning the season didn’t finish until the Autumn at Bahrain. Unless anything changes the GR010 should make its competitive debut at Sebring in the 1,000 miles race on 19^th March, with its Le Mans debut due in June.

Speaking about the new car Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Technical Director, said developing a new car had been more challenging than just downgrading the TS050.

“The new Le Mans Hypercar regulations mean the GR010 HYBRID is a completely new car, designed to a different philosophy,” he said.

“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.”

Driver Sébastien Buemi said he was excited by his first drive in the new car: “We have been waiting for this new era for a long time and finally we get to compete with our hypercar; I think it will be amazing.

“I am really pleased with the GR010, it feels like a very good car and it looks stunning. Actually, I was not expecting to be as fun to drive as it is. I thought it would feel like a GT car. But we learned a lot during our LMP1 era and we used that knowledge to improve the new car, so it feels like a prototype and I really enjoy driving such a fast car.

“We are getting ready for the first race of the season when we want to fight for the win right from the start. It was great to succeed in LMP1 but now we want to do the same in the Le Mans Hypercar era.”