Toyota Racing has unveiled the first details on the 2012 Le Mans challenger - the new TS030 Hybrid. The race car was built as the successor to the iconic TS010 and TS020 cars which participated at Le Mans with podium success during the 1990s. The Toyota Sport 030 will race at the Le Mans 24 Hours event scheduled for June 16th - 17th, 2012. There will be two cars entering the race.
The new TS030 is powered by a THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System – Racing) powertrain that combines an all-new 3.4 liter normally-aspirated V8 engine with a hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo. The car was built on a brand new carbon fiber LMP1 chassis developed and produced at TMG.
The newTS030 Hybrid completed several hundred kilometers, showing an impressive level of reliability and performance for this very early stage in the car’s testing program.
Toyota is about to add another model to its hybrid line-up and, no surprise here, it’s based on the company’s best sold model on the European market: the Yaris. The new Yaris Hybrid is set to make its world debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March with sales in Europe beginning shortly thereafter.
The new Yaris Hybrid will be powered by the first downsizing of Toyota’s HSD powertrain that combines a new 1.5 liter petrol engine with a lighter, more compact electric motor, transaxle, inverter, and battery pack. This new system is about 20% lighter than that of the engine found in the Auris Hybrid and will deliver a total of 100 HP. It will be mated to a standard automatic transmission.
Next to having a hybrid powertrain, the new Yaris Hybrid will also be offered with an exclusive, aerodynamically efficient exterior design. This means it will have a new, more assertive Under Priority trapezoid opening frontal design element with the Keen Look design implemented on the front lamps.
More details about the new Yaris Hybrid will be unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, so stay tuned.
The Toyota Vitz, or the Yaris as it’s known in a lot of international markets, isn’t exactly the type of car that would receive a sports concept program. Apparently, Toyota and GRMN, thought that it would be a pretty good idea. Thus, the Vitz/Yaris Turbo Concept was born.
Prepared by GRMN, which stands for "Gazoo Racing Master of Nurburgring," the three-door Yaris received some pretty impressive bodywork, complete with Gazoo Racing’s signature livery, a new grille set-up, a redesigned front bumper, a front lip spoiler, widened front and rear fenders, side skirts, a roof spoiler, a new rear bumper and diffuser, and a new set of 18" wheels wrapped in high-performance tires. In terms of performance, the Yaris Turbo Concept received an improved engine, courtesy of a modified 1.5-liter supercharged engine that produces 180 horsepower and 162.3 lb-ft of torque. The engine was then combined with a five-speed manual transmission, a new lowered sports suspension, and a high-performance braking system.
It wasn’t surprising to see Toyota and GRMN pull out all the stops with their Tokyo Auto Salon contingent. What raised our eyebrows was the impressive detail Toyota and GRMN went through to build a sporty and aggressive Toyota Yaris.
Friday the 13th isn’t typically considered a good day for those that are a tad superstitious, but the people behind the Tokyo Auto Salon aren’t in the least bit paraskevidekatriaphobic (plague with a fear of Friday the 13th) because that’s when they decided to open their doors. Lucky for us (pun intended), because Toyota has chosen this setting to reveal their TES-ERA EV - a concept car developed by the Toyota Engineering Society that proves that even electric vehicles can be extremely cool.
The work on this project began back in March 2011 with a team of 20 members doing their best to produce a spectacular electric concept. This concept features an innovative design with sweet gullwing doors, a rich Dark Blue Mica exterior paint finish with 18-inch aluminum wheels, and height adjustable double wishbone suspensions. The interior of the concept gets a built-in touch-shift steering wheel, a rear and side view camera monitor system, an instrument panel, door trims with decorative illumination, and 4-point seat belts.
Joining the ranks of the beautiful exterior is the power setup. The TES-ERA is powered by an electric 4JM motor that delivers a total of 164 HP and 247 lb-ft of torque. The motor takes its power from a lithium-ion battery and is mated to a rear-wheel-drive system and the F1 "KERS’ system. With a total weight of 2535 lbs, the TES-ERA EV can hit a top speed of 124 mph.
All we can say is: we want it!
The 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon is just chock full of tuning packages for the Toyota GT 86, or any of its sibling iterations. Next to the GT86 by TRD featured earlier, Toyota has also brought the GT 86 Modellista version to Japan. While both versions mostly focused on adding some flare to the small sports car, they both proved that the GT86 is the perfect car to upgrade, in any way the customer dreams or desires.
The Toyota GT 86 Modellista has received a new front spoiler, a new rear spoiler, and chrome door moldings. Both headlights and rear lights have been modified, with the headlights receiving eye lids to simplify the car’s front and the taillights receiving covers to blend with the rest of the car. The final touch for the exterior is a new set of 18" wheels wrapped in high performance tires and a very cool white exterior paint. There aren’t any details on the interior modifications, but stay with us and we’ll keep you posted!
