Toyota lifts the veil on the TS050 Hybrid

This time, the 2016 World Championship seasonEndurance WEC is thrown. Before the first official runs of the Prologue which will begin tomorrow on the Paul-Ricard track in Var, Toyota finally presented its new LM P1 called TS050 Hybrid.

As AUTOhebdo has been announcing to you for several weeks now, the latest from the Japanese firm will indeed feature an engine based on a V6 architecture., a twin-turbo unit with a displacement of 2,4 liters, which replaces the V8 seen on the predecessors.

The TS050 Hybrid will also present a revised hybrid system with the adoption of the now essential lithium-ion batteries replacing the super-capacitor, which will store the energy recovered during braking by two motor-generators installed on the front and rear axles. The TS050 will thus be registered in the 8MJ class in 2016.

“Apart from certain principles that have been retained to capitalize on the development of previous years, we have changed every part of the car, explains technical director Pascal Vasselon.

In many areas, like powertrain and aerodynamics, the concepts themselves have changed. The aerodynamic concept, and in particular the front of the car, has evolved radically. We've spent thousands of hours redefining this new concept and this time we've done much more than incremental changes: we've significantly changed the way we deal with airflow and air-support devices. 'Before.

Progress has been significant in WEC recently, so we cannot afford to have an area of ​​the package that is not fully optimized. The TS050 Hybrid was developed on this basis. We want to be competitive. This is the minimum objective set: to be back in the game and to be competitive. »

Two copies will be lined up in WEC and at 24 Hours of Le Mans This year.

Toyota TS050 Hybrid photo gallery