Photo: Toyota
Toyota announced at the end of last year that it will continue to race in the World Endurance Championship, putting out both of its teams in upgraded TS040 Hybrid LMP1 prototypes.
With the cars being almost ready to be revealed in March, Toyota now dropped the first details and photos with the new prototypes.
The racecar’s desing remains almost the same, but with some upgraded aerodynamic parts. However, what’s interesting lies under its sleek shape. The TS040 will now be a four-wheel-drive racecar.
The engineers sticked to the V8 gasoline engine as the main power supplier, despite Audi and Porsche are using smaller V6 and four-cylinder ones, but they fitted and additional electric motor powering the front wheels.
At the front, they fitted an Aisin electric motor/generator while the DENSO unit at the back has been left in its place. The two motors will act as generators under braking to charge a Nisshinbo super-capacitor. When accelerating, the motors will reverse their function, delivering a significant boost by depleting the super-capacitor.
The TS040 Hybrid will be revealed at the WEC official test session between 28-29 March.
The racecar’s desing remains almost the same, but with some upgraded aerodynamic parts. However, what’s interesting lies under its sleek shape. The TS040 will now be a four-wheel-drive racecar.
The engineers sticked to the V8 gasoline engine as the main power supplier, despite Audi and Porsche are using smaller V6 and four-cylinder ones, but they fitted and additional electric motor powering the front wheels.
At the front, they fitted an Aisin electric motor/generator while the DENSO unit at the back has been left in its place. The two motors will act as generators under braking to charge a Nisshinbo super-capacitor. When accelerating, the motors will reverse their function, delivering a significant boost by depleting the super-capacitor.
The TS040 Hybrid will be revealed at the WEC official test session between 28-29 March.
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