Automobiles Review

Tag: Toyota TS040

  • Toyota is Ready for World Endurance Championship

    2015 Toyota TS040Toyota Racing is prepared to defend their title on the World Endurance Championship in Silverstone (10 to 12 April). Let us remind you, that the Toyota team dominated the last championship and claimed five wins out of eight. It is expected to be a hard defense, because the rivals at Audi and Porsche team are also motivated to show their best.

    Actually, there is an addition to the team: Kazuki Nakajima (Japan). The Toyota crew also looks forward to keeping the RAC International Tourist Trophy, which is one of the oldest honours. The first was presented in 1905.

    But this isn’t the final team arrangement. Additional changes are made by Alez Wurz (Austria) and Stephane Sarrazin (France), who are united again with Briton Mike Conway in car No.2. The trio, as you might remember raced together in 2014.

    The machine itself, the almighty TS040 Hybrid has been tremendously redesigned since the 2014 races. Almost 18 percent of the parts and components are further upgraded to bring even higher levels of performance and reliability.

    Upgrades include aerodynamic changes, that bring even higher speed and additional downforce. The powertrain also deserved attention. Now, it roars with more than 1,000 hp (735kW).

    he race weekend will start with two hour and a half practice sessions, qualifying at 12:30 and the start of the six-hour race will be at midday on Sunday.

    Stay tuned for further details and news.

    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid

    Source: Toyota

     

  • Toyota Racing Confirms Lineup for FIA World Endurance Championship

    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid is to be driven by two brand new drivers included in the lineup for the FIA World Endurance Championship. They are Anthony Davidson and Mike Conway. With the announcement of their addition to the list, Toyota Racing has finally confirmed the driver line-up for this year. The team will be competing with two TS040 Hybrid cars and has the goal of keeping the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world champion titles.

    As a reminder, Toyota was 2014 champion and this means that the cars will be placed at the No1 and No2 plates. And to reach the final goal and stay on the first place, Toyota’s driver line-ups have been fine-tuned.

    Precisely, the No1 car will feature Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi, who jointly claimed the 2014 drivers’ title, alongside Kazui Nakajima. The No2 car will be driven by Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway. There will also be a future announcement regarding a test and reserve driver in the coming weeks.

    In addition, the company confirmed that it has plans to return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2017. The Cologne-based Toyota Racing Team said its World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign would not be adversely affected by its involvement in the WRC project.

    Team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita praised the performances, attitude and commitment of the six drivers and said that they have worked with all our drivers for a long time and have developed very strong relationships. This stability and consistency has been a significant part of the recent success and made it to number one priority in the plans for 2015 and beyond.

    Driver Details:

    ANTHONY DAVIDSON
    Born 18 April 1979, Hemel Hempstead, UK
    Le Mans debut 2003
    Le Mans starts 7
    Le Mans best result 2nd (2013)
    WEC starts 17
    WEC wins 5
    WEC best season 1st (2014)
    SÉBASTIEN BUEMI
    Born 31 October 1988, Aigle, Switzerland
    Le Mans debut 2012
    Le Mans starts 3
    Le Mans best result 2nd (2013)
    WEC starts 17
    WEC wins 5
    WEC best season 1st (2014)
    KAZUKI NAKAJIMA
    Born 11 January 1985, Okazaki, Japan
    Le Mans debut 2012
    Le Mans starts 3
    Le Mans best result 4th (2013)
    WEC starts 16
    WEC wins 2
    WEC best season 8th (2014)
    ALEX WURZ
    Born 15 February 1974, Waidhofen an der Thaya, Austria
    Le Mans debut 1996
    Le Mans starts 8
    Le Mans best result 1st (1996 & 2009)
    WEC starts 20
    WEC wins 5
    WEC best season 3rd (2012)
    STÉPHANE SARRAZIN
    Born 2 November 1975, Alès, France
    Le Mans debut 2001
    Le Mans starts 13
    Le Mans best result 2nd (2007, 2009 & 2013)
    WEC starts 24
    WEC wins 2
    WEC best season 3rd (2013)
    MIKE CONWAY
    Born 19 August 1983, Sevenoaks, UK
    Le Mans debut 2013
    Le Mans starts 1
    Le Mans best result n/a
    WEC starts 10
    WEC wins 2
    WEC best season 7th (2013)
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid
    2015 Toyota TS040 Hybrid

    Source: Toyota 

  • Toyota TS040 Hybrid Race Car

    Toyota Racing has unveiled the new 2014 TS040 Hybrid Race Car, which will compete in FIA World Endurance Championship. The new car, revealed today at the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France, represents the most advanced hybrid technology in modern racing. Tomorrow it will begin an official championship test session, prior to making its competition debut at the season-opening Six Hours of Silverstone race on 20 April.

    The drivetrain includes a 480HP (353 kW) all-wheel drive hybrid boost and 520HP (383 kW) 3.7 liter V8 petrol engine. The overall power is exactly 1,000HP (736 kW), so the rival manufacturers Audi and Porsche should be very concerned.

    The new powertrain has been developed in line with revised WEC technical regulations, which put an emphasis on fuel economy. Teams are required to use 25% less fuel than in 2013, with savings achieved through changes to powertrains, aerodynamics and driving style. By adopting more road-relevant technology, the WEC will increase the possibilities for the transfer of Toyota’s race-bred technical know-how to its production cars, strengthening is status as the world’s leading manufacturer of hybrid vehicles.

    Toyota Racing have made gains in efficiency and performance by using specialist lubricants they have developed with their official partner, Total. The more open regulations have also allowed the team to engineer a major increase in hybrid power, using a new motor-generator on the front axle in addition to the unit at the rear. Under deceleration, these motor generators apply braking force in combination with the traditional mechanical brakes to harvest energy, which is then transferred via an inverter to a super-capacitor. When the car accelerates, the motor-generators reverse their function, delivering a power boost to all four wheels.

    Toyota TS040 Hybrid Race Car
    Toyota TS040 Hybrid Race Car
    Toyota TS040 Hybrid Race Car

    2014 FIA World Endurance Championship Calendar:

    20 Apr Six Hours of Silverstone (GB)
    3 May Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Bel)
    14 Jun Le Mans 24 Hours (Fra)
    20 Sep Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas (USA)
    12 Oct Six Hours of Fuji (Jpn)
    2 Nov Six Hours of Shanghai (Chi)
    15 Nov Six Hours of Bahrain
    30 Nov Six Hours of Sao Paulo (Bra)

    Source: Toyota