Photo: Toyota
Nobody is saying it out loud, but we’ve all been thinking about it. Toyota Gazoo Racing is the only works team in LMP1 in this season of the World Endurance Championship, and after three years of back-to-back titles for Porsche, the Japanese automaker is getting a taste of victory. Le Mans is coming up on June 16th, 2018, and Toyota couldn’t pass this opportunity to showcase how much it wants to win.
And thus, we get to the three cars pictured in the photo gallery. The pictures were published today (8.06), the vehicles are based on the GT86 boxer-engined sports car, and this edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the 86th. If prizes were awarded for how cheesy an automaker can be, Toyota would win this time around, hands down.
“Each car sports a different livery celebrating some of Toyota’s great Le Mans cars of the past,” though that doesn’t change the fact Toyota failed to take the title – and win at Le Mans - ever since the Group C class was introduced in the early 1980s. The GT86 sporting the blue-and-white livery pays tribute to the TS010 from 1992, which was powered by a Formula 1-inspired 3.5-liter V10 churning out 700 ponies.
Moving on to the red-and-white car, that one serves as a nod to the TS020 from 1998. Also known as the GT-One, the TS020 was initially developed for grand touring (GT1), but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype (LMGTP). Last, but not least, the GT86 with white, black, and red decals was made to resemble the TS050 Hybrid that came stupidly close to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 2016.
As opposed to the bone-stock GT86, these babies are equipped with the rear spoiler listed in the Toyota accessory catalog. Vehicle vinyl specialist Funkee Fish is responsible for reproducing the liveries to match the proportions of the sports car. Lowered by 40 millimeters thanks to lowering springs, the GT86 trio also boasts aftermarket alloys that replicate the designs of the original racing wheels. Last, but not least, all three are fitted with Milltek-developed stainless-steel exhaust systems.
“Each car sports a different livery celebrating some of Toyota’s great Le Mans cars of the past,” though that doesn’t change the fact Toyota failed to take the title – and win at Le Mans - ever since the Group C class was introduced in the early 1980s. The GT86 sporting the blue-and-white livery pays tribute to the TS010 from 1992, which was powered by a Formula 1-inspired 3.5-liter V10 churning out 700 ponies.
Moving on to the red-and-white car, that one serves as a nod to the TS020 from 1998. Also known as the GT-One, the TS020 was initially developed for grand touring (GT1), but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype (LMGTP). Last, but not least, the GT86 with white, black, and red decals was made to resemble the TS050 Hybrid that came stupidly close to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 2016.
As opposed to the bone-stock GT86, these babies are equipped with the rear spoiler listed in the Toyota accessory catalog. Vehicle vinyl specialist Funkee Fish is responsible for reproducing the liveries to match the proportions of the sports car. Lowered by 40 millimeters thanks to lowering springs, the GT86 trio also boasts aftermarket alloys that replicate the designs of the original racing wheels. Last, but not least, all three are fitted with Milltek-developed stainless-steel exhaust systems.
Google News