Toyota will ditch their title-winning 3.7 normally-aspirated V8 at the end of the 2015 season after being outperformed by Audi’s V6 and Porsche’s V4 Hybrid power-plants.
Toyota Motorsport GmbH team director Rob Leupen said to Autosport: “We will switch to a new engine and Japan is working hard on it already, but all we can say is that it will be petrol powered.”
Toyota’s super-capacitor-assisted V8 proved to be the most competitive package over the 2014 season, however with the massive leap in performance made by Audi and Toyota, the Japanese manufacturer have also confirmed they will now opt for a more conventional battery energy-storage system.
Such a move would potentially elevate Toyota into the 8mJ class along with Porsche without the weight disadvantage associated with lugging a super-capacitor.
Development on the all-new TS050 has been accelerated to the track in January next year. Initially a stage one switch to battery power was mooted, before Toyota decides integrating an all-new engine package was needed to stay competitive; with TMG technical director Pascal Leupen indicating that the team didn’t “want two years of development.”
Toyota conceded an overall race deficit of around 20 minutes to their opposition at Le Mans and will be seeking ways to bridge the gap before the new car comes online next year.
Image: Toyota Motorsport