Hybrid Toyota for 2012 Le Mans
Toyota will compete in the 2012 Le Mans 24-hour race with a new hybrid power sports car.
Its return to the world's most famous endurance race will be with a new LMP1 chassis designed, developed and produced
by Toyota Motorsport in Germany, equipped with a hybrid petrol power train engineered by Toyota in Japan.
Participation at Le Mans will be one of a number of races the company proposes to enter in the 2012 FIA World
Endurance Championship, a competition that will enable it to further explore the potential of hybrid technology.
The new team will be based at its Cologne headquarters and it is expected that the new car will be rolled out early
in 2012 for an extensive pre-season testing programme. Further details about the team will be announced later.
"Toyota has entered Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new
challenge," said Toyota Motorsport Chairman, Tadashi Yamashina. "We want to write a new chapter in the history
of the Le Mans 24 Hours, as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of hybrid technology. In addition,
we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production
car technology. Le Mans is a legendary race and I would like to thank the ACO and the FIA for their constructive and
positive co-operation over the last few months."
Toyota's current motorsport projects are unaffected by the announcement of the new racing programme and will continue
as before.
Toyota last competed in the Le Mans 24-Hour as a manufacturer in the late 1990s racing the GT-One, which established
a new race lap record in 1999.