Photo: Toyota
Porsche won't be the only carmaker in the 2016 World Endurance Championship to switch to the coveted 8 Mega Joule class, as the 2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid will jump on the exact same bandwagon.
Unlike last year, when the TS040 Hybrid was fielding an awesome-sounding and naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V8, the 2016 TS050 Hybrid has switched to a smaller capacity V6. This happened because Toyota targeted the 8MJ category, which now allows it to go head-to-head with the Porsche 919 Hybrid.
The TS050 Hybrid is thus powered by a 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with direct injection and the 8MJ hybrid system mentioned above. Combined, the entire system delivers around 1000 hp, with 500 hp coming from the internal combustion only.
“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.” said Hisatake Murata, General Manager Motor Sport Unit Development Division at Toyota Motorsport.
On a related note, Porsche will probably disagree since both last year's Le Mans winner and this year's 919 Hybrid are equipped with a turbocharged V4 engine and the latter is also part of the most powerful LMP1 Hybrid category.
Toyota also says that the switch from last year's super capacitor to a Lithium-ion battery storage will make the race car much more fuel efficient, despite a substantial increase in overall torque figures.
The 2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid has already covered approximately 22,000 km (13,670 miles) in testing with good results. The 2016 WEC seasons will kick off on April 17, at Silverstone, where we will see how the three LMP1 championship contenders stack up against each other for the first time.
The TS050 Hybrid is thus powered by a 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with direct injection and the 8MJ hybrid system mentioned above. Combined, the entire system delivers around 1000 hp, with 500 hp coming from the internal combustion only.
“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.” said Hisatake Murata, General Manager Motor Sport Unit Development Division at Toyota Motorsport.
On a related note, Porsche will probably disagree since both last year's Le Mans winner and this year's 919 Hybrid are equipped with a turbocharged V4 engine and the latter is also part of the most powerful LMP1 Hybrid category.
Toyota also says that the switch from last year's super capacitor to a Lithium-ion battery storage will make the race car much more fuel efficient, despite a substantial increase in overall torque figures.
The 2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid has already covered approximately 22,000 km (13,670 miles) in testing with good results. The 2016 WEC seasons will kick off on April 17, at Silverstone, where we will see how the three LMP1 championship contenders stack up against each other for the first time.
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