Toyota Gazoo Racing revealed the all-new TS050 HYBRID today at Paul Ricard ahead of the 2016 WEC Prologue, a pair of which are set to compete in the full-season FIA World Endurance Championship.
It features a significant change in powertrain concept. A 2.4 litre, twin-turbo, direct injection V6 petrol engine is combined with an 8MJ hybrid system, both of which are developed by Motor Sport Unit Development Division at Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre.
A new generation turbo engine with direct injection is better suited to the current regulations which limit fuel flow to the engine, and provides opportunity to continue technology and knowledge transfer from the track to road cars.
Like Toyota road cars, the front and rear motor-generators recover energy under braking, storing it in a high-powered lithium-ion battery and releasing it as boost for maximum efficiency. The change from super capacitor to battery storage allows the TS050 HYBRID to move up to the more-powerful 8MJ hybrid class.
The TS040 HYBRID was already used as a rolling test bench and contributed to current road cars. With turbo engines increasingly in use on the road, Toyota expects to use the technology and know-how from WEC to make ever-better road cars.
A new powertrain concept brings different cooling and packaging demands, including an updated transmission to handle the significant increase in torque delivered by the turbo engine. Combined with a new aerodynamic concept, that means virtually every part on the TS050 HYBRID chassis has been redesigned by Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne, Germany.
Powertrain components have played their part too in the improved aerodynamic performance of the TS050 HYBRID; by relocating the front motor-generator unit, better under-floor air flow has been achieved which will contribute to overall performance. Suspension kinematics have also been revised to optimise tyre wear.
The team, which includes several new faces, has already been busy testing the TS050 HYBRID prior to the WEC Prologue, striving for performance and reliability, covering over 22,000km with positive results.
Toshio Sato, team president: “This is a very exciting season for Toyota Gazoo Racing, particularly because we have a completely new car with a new powertrain concept. This reflects the current trend in road cars and gives us more opportunities to transfer know-how and technology into Toyota’s road car developments.
“Our WEC activities are motivated by the development of technology and people; we are already seeing the results of our activities in current road cars. But as well as helping TOYOTA to make ever-better cars, we also want to win. Our clear target this year is to compete again at the front, after a very disappointing 2015 season. In Higashi-Fuji and Cologne, there has been a huge effort to prepare for this season; everyone is highly motivated and pushing together to get back onto the centre of the podium.”
Hisatake Murata, general manager motorsport unit development division: “The regulations for this season include a reduction in fuel flow and total fuel energy of approximately 7.5%. As motorsport engineers, we want to always increase the performance of the powertrain so it was important to compensate for this reduction with a more efficient, powerful powertrain. We believe a V6, direct injection, twin turbo engine achieves the best balance of power and efficiency considering the current regulations.
“Combined with our move into the 8MJ class, this will give us significantly improved torque compared to the previous powertrain; this was a key target for the new car. The new powertrain presents some challenges, particularly in terms of weight and cooling, but the team at Higashi-Fuji and Cologne has worked very hard to address these and I am confident we have met the challenge.
“We face tough opposition, as last year showed, but we are ready and I cannot wait for Silverstone.”
Pascal Vasselon, technical director: “Aside from some principles which have been retained to capitalise on previous years’ development, we have changed every single part. In many areas, like the powertrain and the aerodynamics, the concepts themselves have changed. The aerodynamic concept, and particularly the front face of the car, has changed drastically.
“We have spent thousands of hours refining this new concept and this time we have done more than incremental changes; we have significantly changed the way we handle the flow structure after the front downforce-generating devices. There has been a significant progress rate in WEC recently so we cannot afford to have any area of the package which is not fully optimised.
“The TS050 HYBRID has been developed on that basis. We want to be competitive. That is the minimum target we set ourselves – to be back in the game and competitive.”
Rob Leupen, team director: “The team has worked extremely hard on the TS050 HYBRID, which is the result of a close, productive cooperation. Our innovative motorsport technology, as well as the R&D opportunities in Cologne, is contributing to making ever-better cars and the development of road car engineers.
“At TMG we are delighted to welcome increasing numbers of colleagues from Japan to learn and utilise motorsport as a test bed for new technologies. We are continuously improving team work and this process is very positive; expertise is transferred between Cologne and Higashi-Fuji, and vice-versa, to help reach our targets in WEC.
“We have responded to a difficult 2015 by reinforcing our team with additional, younger faces throughout, including the driver line-up. The whole team has worked hard during the tests; we still have a long way to go but we expect to be competitive this year.”
In the #5 TS050 HYBRID, 2014 World Champions Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi are again joined by former Le Mans pole position winner Kazuki Nakajima to form a potent partnership.
Multiple Le Mans pole position winner Stéphane Sarrazin once again links up with fellow WEC race winner Mike Conway in the #6. They are joined by Formula 1 podium-finisher Kamui Kobayashi, promoted from test and reserve driver.
While Toyota has no official test and reserve driver this year, young Japanese driver Ryo Hirakawa will be a part of the team, as a member of the Toyota Young Drivers Programme (TDP). Ryo, who is a race winner in Japanese Super GT and a former Japanese Formula Three champion, will also race an LMP2 car in the European Le Mans Series with the TDS Racing team.
He will join further tests this season as he acclimatises to the specific demands of an LMP1 car and, like his team-mates, will benefit from the experience of Alex Wurz, who has begun a new chapter in his career as an advisor and team ambassador for Toyota.
Anthony Davidson (#5 TS050 HYBRID): “I’m looking forward to getting started this season with the new TS050 HYBRID; it’s always an exciting time of the year. Last year it was obviously a disappointment but this season we will be stronger and hopefully more like 2014 when we were really competitive.
“It’s not going to be easy because the competition is strong but we are pushing hard, working on reliability and performance. We are all focused on playing our part and making progress as quickly as possible, as you can see with this completely new car.
“I’m really impressed with the TS050 HYBRID; I like the different sound of the turbo engine and the 8MJ system is a huge step forward. All the drivers feel that and it makes us realise what we were missing last year. I can’t wait to experience it in race conditions.”
Stéphane Sarrazin (#6 TS050 HYBRID): “I’m really excited that the season is coming. We are testing a lot and the whole team is pushing really hard to make sure we have reliability and to fine-tune our car for the season. The Prologue will be the first time where we can see what Audi and Porsche did during the winter, so it will be interesting.
“Generally, of course I hope that we will be back in the game and that we can show good performance already in Silverstone. My first impressions of the TS050 HYBRID are very positive. It is definitely a big step forward and we improved every single part, particularly the powertrain. The battery itself is really incredible with 8MJ of boost; this is a very good point for us.
“We are in a busy period to prepare for the season but have a good starting point and we expect to be fighting at the front.”
TS050 HYBRID Technical Specifications
Type LMP1-H (Le Mans Prototype – Hybrid)
Bodywork Carbon fibre composite
Windscreen Polycarbonate
Gearbox Transversal with 7 gears sequential
Gearbox casing Aluminium
Driveshafts Constant velocity tripod plunge-joint driveshafts
Clutch ZF-supplied multidisc
Differential Mechanical locking differential
Suspension Independent front and rear double wishbone, pushrod-system
Springs Torsion bars
Anti roll bars Front and rear
Steering Hydraulically assisted
Brake calipers Akebono mono-block light-alloy
Brake discs Carbon ventilated
Discs Ventilated front and rear in carbon
Rims RAYS magnesium alloy, 13 x 18 inch
Tyres Michelin radial
Front tyres 31/71-18
Rear tyres 31/71-18
Length 4650mm
Width 1900mm
Height 1050mm
Fuel capacity 62.5litres
Powertrain Toyota HYBRID System – Racing (THS-R)
Engine V6 direct injection twin-turbo
Engine capacity 2.4litre
Fuel Petrol
Valves 4
Engine power 368kw / 500PS
Hybrid power 368kw / 500PS (front and rear combined)
Combined power 736kw / 1000PS
Battery High-powered lithium-ion battery developed by TOYOTA
Front hybrid motor AISIN AW
Rear hybrid motor DENSO
Inverter DENSO
