Toyota is building a 986bhp hypercar with LMP1-H tech

At the Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year, Toyota revealed the GR Super Sport concept – a 986bhp, LMP1 inspired hybrid – and now we know it’s going into production. On the same weekend the racing team took its maiden Le Mans victory, the Toyota Gazoo racing president Shigeki Tomoyama, revealed the company’s plans for the Super Sport.

‘Competing in the World Endurance Championship – one of the most demanding motorsport series – and racing at Le Mans helps us to advance the development of our world-leading hybrid electric technology and enables us to transfer the knowledge we gain to our production cars,’ he said. The Japanese marque’s near-1000bhp hybrid car will be based on the GR Super Sports Concept that was first shown at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon and is now on display at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Fan Village.

Toyota’s future super sports car will use the same powertrain that’s already proving successful in its pole position LMP1 car. Not only will this establish a strong connection between Toyota’s motorsport activities and its road cars, but the technology and knowledge that Toyota Gazoo Racing has collected developing the LMP1 car will transfer directly into the new road car.

The THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System – Racing) drivetrain used in the Toyota LMP1-H TS050 Hybrid and the GR Super Sports Concept, produces 986bhp courtesy of a twin-turbocharged 2.4-litre V6 and two electric motors. The two electric motors are fed by lithium-ion batteries and develop the same power (493bhp) as the V6. Toyota hasn’t revealed a comprehensive specification, so there’s no word on the gearbox, but it’s safe to assume it uses the TS050’s transversely-mounted sequential unit, too.

Although clearly influenced by its racing brother, Toyota’s GR Super Sports Concept is less brutal looking. The bluff, square pontoon arches of the race car are flatter and smoother on the concept, the sides are more sculpted and the rear is more trim and neater. The GR Super Sports Concept does still have the prominent triangular nose of the race car, similar to the one seen on the Toyota’s Supra concept.

President of Toyota Gazoo Racing, Shigeki Tomoyama, didn’t reveal when the Toyota hypercar would hit the roads, but did say: ‘at some point in the near future, customers will have a chance to get behind the wheel of this incredible machine and experience its astonishing power and driving performance.’

Although Toyota doesn’t have a long and illustrious history of creating super sports cars, it has form when turning its Le Mans prototype racers into road cars. Back in the late 90s, when GT1 regulations governed endurance racing, the rules stipulated that a road-going version of any GT1 race car must be produced. Toyota lightly tweaked its GT-One racer to make it eligible for the road, just as Porsche, Mercedes and Nissan did with their GT1 race cars.

What’s going on?

Just like the Mercedes-AMG Project One, the GR Super Sport will use hybrid-technology derived from racing, and will also be produced in very low numbers. It’s also the perfect halo car for Toyota’s new GRMN brand – which consists of the GRMN Yaris, and soon a GRMN Supra.One, will also have a race-derived 1000bhp powertrain, but one borrowed from an F1 car rather than a sports car prototype.However, there’s a strong chance we’ll also see this Toyota racing. After the WEC’s 2018-2019 Super Season, new regulations are proposing a return to GT1-style cars, the Super Sport – and Project One – fit perfectly into that class. Here’s hoping for a spiritual successor to the Toyota GT-One.As well as directly powering this next road car, the understanding Toyota garners from the race and hypercar programs will help power its next generation of part-electric sports cars.

Everything else to know

The new GR Super Sport Concept looks very much like a prototype LMP1 or LMP2 car, and features a low-slung profile with a stabilising shark fin and bulbous driver cockpit. While the design of the car is clearly influenced by the Toyota FT-1 concept and current road cars, there’s a chunk of racing LMP1 DNA here, too. 

Most importantly, the WEC influence extends to the Super Sport Concept’s engine, as it’s powered by a twin-turbo, direct injection 2.4-litre V6 engine combined with a Hybrid System - Racing powertrain. Toyota says the concept’s power unit features technology and systems derived from its endurance racing program. It'll be able to put out a staggering 986bhp. 

Race to road

The idea of bringing racing technology to the road isn’t a new idea, but it’s one Toyota is 

embracing more and more. Earlier this year we drove the incredible Toyota Yaris GRMN, a 

track-ready hot hatch for the road – and this GR Super Sport Concept is the next model in the race to road push.

While the Yaris GRMN gains most of its technology from Toyota’s rally program, the GR Super Sport Concept features learnings from LMP1 – a class in which Toyota is now the only works manufacturer. In many ways, cars as interesting as the Super Sport Concept are justifying Toyota’s decision to continue to race at Le Mans. ‘Rather than developing production cars into sports cars, we aim to work out how to incorporate the know-how gained from racing and rallying into production cars,’ said Shigeki Tomoyama, President of Toyota Gazoo Racing. ‘This is how sporting competition contributes to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s efforts to make ever-better cars.’

source :- drivemagazine,crankandpiston,google