Toyota unveils hybrid hypercar for 24 Hours of Le Mans

Toyota Gazoo Racing has digitally pulled the curtain on the GR010 Hybrid, an all-new hybrid Le Mans racer that will be seen in action at the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship this year.

The GR010 Hybrid is the hybrid track extremist developed by Toyota’s motorsport division, Toyota Gazoo Racing, which falls into the new LMh hypercar class, a racing division that replaces the LMP1 class. Brands such as Peugeot, Alpine and Audi will also enter the battlefield here. Where Peugeot recently indicated that, contrary to what was said earlier, there will be no street version of its circuit monster, Toyota Gazoo Racing emphasizes that there will be a street version based on this GR010. Yes, Toyota is releasing a hybrid hypercar for the public road. Let that work on you for a moment.

Toyota GR010 Hybrid

Toyota GR010 Hybrid

The GR010 Hybrid has been developed over a period of 18 months. The four-wheel drive hypercar has a 3.5-liter biturbo V6 behind the driver’s seat, a machine that sends 680 hp to the rear axle and works in conjunction with a 272 hp electric motor that powers the front axle. No electric motor on the rear axle, like its predecessor. However, the total power is limited to 680 hp. The electric motor is always used as much as possible, the power that the petrol engine delivers varies.

The GR010 Hybrid naturally meets the WEC requirements set by the FIA. That makes the 1,040 kg GR010 Hybrid 162 hp heavier and 32 percent less powerful than its predecessor TS050 Hybrid. Toyota Gazoo Racing therefore expects the race car to take ten seconds longer to complete a lap at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe, where the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be held. Reserve driver Nyck de Vries hints in the press conference that the GR010 is slightly less sharp than the TS050. If we put the GR010 Hybrid next to its predecessor, it is striking that Toyota Gazoo Racing’s latest achievement is 25 centimeters longer and both 10 centimeters higher and wider. The crack nose is 4.9 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.15 meters low. Toyota also says that except for the buttons and the sensors, all parts of the GR010 Hybrid are completely new.

Toyota says the street version of the hypercar is still under development. The road version has already been taken into account in the design process of the GR010 Hybrid. So expect that a number of style elements will also come to the public road. In any case, the GR Super Sport Concept presented to the world in January 2018 gives a good indication of what you can expect from that hybrid powerhouse. Toyota did not want to say how many copies will eventually be built.

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