Toyota Gazoo Racing launches the GR010 Hybrid Le Mans hypercar

Toyota, the reigning World Champions and three-time Le Mans winners will defend those titles against new manufacturer competitors using a racing version of the upcoming hypercar road car, featuring powertrain technology developed in the TS050 Hybrid and highlighted via the new Racing Hybrid branding.

The GR010 is a prototype racer developed over the last 18 months in partnership by engineers at the team's headquarters in Cologne, Germany and the electric hybrid powertrain experts at Higashi-Fuji in Japan.

The GR010 Hybrid incorporates a powerful four-wheel drive racing hybrid powertrain, with a 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbocharged engine, providing 671bhp to the rear wheels and combining with a 268bhp motor generator unit, developed by Aisin AW and Denso, on the front axle. Total output is capped at 671bhp, meaning the GR010 Hybrid's electronics reduce engine power according to the amount of hybrid boost deployed.

The striking new look of the racing prototype reflects the appearance of its inspiration, the GR Super Sport hypercar which made its public debut during a demonstration run and ceremonial trophy return at the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours and is currently in development. To mark this new era for Toyota Gazoo Racing, a new livery includes the iconic GR lettering to indicate the strong link between race and road cars.

Toyota Gazoo Racing enters its ninth season in WEC with the same driver lineup which brought Le Mans and World Championship glory to the team in the 2019 - 2020 campaign World Champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez will drive the #7 car while Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley drive the #8 car. Nyck de Vries continues in his role as test and reserve driver.

They have already started an intense programme of developing the GR010 Hybrid, with two three-day tests already completed as the team adapts to new regulations which are a significant shift in terms of performance and philosophy.

As part of a cost-cutting initiative incorporated in the regulations, the new GR010 is 162kg heavier and with 32% less power than its TS050 predecessor, with Le Mans lap times expected to be around 10 seconds slower. It also has bigger dimensions, being 250mm longer, 100mm wider and 100mm higher.

For the first time since the beginning of its WEC project, Toyota Gazoo Racing will participate without a rear Motor Generator Unit (MGU), with the single permitted MGU located on the front axle. This means a starter motor must be fitted on the GR010 Hybrid while fully hydraulic rear brakes are also required.

The car features state-of-the-art aerodynamics, optimised for efficiency, and developed using powerful Computational Fluid Dynamics software and wind tunnel testing. The new technical regulations permit only a single homologated bodywork package, with only one adjustable aerodynamic device.

The GR010 Hybrid will therefore compete in the same specification at both low and high downforce circuits, with an adjustable rear wing modifying the aerodynamic characteristics.

For the first time, the top class of WEC and Le Mans will feature a balance of performance, meaning organisers will modify the performance of each car on a race-by-race basis, regulating energy usage and weight, targeting identical performance potential from each Le Mans hypercar.

That should ensure close racing between Toyota Gazoo Racing and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus and ByKolles Racing, as well as Alpine, which will present an additional challenge with its LMP1 car.

Those battles will be fought over six races, beginning with the 1000 Miles of Sebring on 19 March 2021, followed by the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 1 May 2021, and the Le Mans 24 Hours on 12 and 13 June 2021. The first World Championship endurance race in Monza since 1992 takes place on 18 July 2021 before trips to Fuji Speedway on 26 September 2021 and Bahrain on 20 November 2021, all of which are six-hour contests.