NEWS: Toyota confirms production of 986-horsepower supercar

Toyota has confirmed that the 986-horsepower (1,000 DIN hp) Gazoo Racing Super Sport Concept will enter production. At a press conference ahead of the 86th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Gazoo Racing president Shigeki Tomoyama revealed that development has already begun, hinting at a return to the glory days of GT1 road cars. 

First announced by Toyota at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, the concept was billed as the basis for the next generation of Toyota sports cars. It’s essentially the 986-horsepower twin-turbo V6 hybrid powertrain of Toyota’s TS050 Le Mans race car, but wrapped in a much prettier carbon fiber skin.

Ostensibly, the car exists because in 2020 the FIA (the organizers of Le Mans and the World Endurance Championships), will usher in a new era of top class racers. The sweeping new regulations promise sleeker cars with more “marque cachet,” and stress that “Aerodynamics cannot take precedence over aesthetics.” However, Tomoyama gave another reason at the Le Mans press conference:

“As the automotive industry is approaching an era of big changes, we will continue our passion for making cars that are truly exciting. No matter how electronics and digital technology will continue to transform vehicles, we will make sure that our cars will not become just another commodity.”

In the 1990s, Le Mans homologation rules mandated that the top level GT1 race cars needed to be based off of road cars. Automakers bent those rules, creating the race cars they wanted originally and then making a small number of road-going versions of those racers. That’s how the world  got dream machines like the Toyota GT-One, Nissan R390 GT1, and Porsche 911 GT1, even if some were never really intended to be sold to the public.

So far, the automakers that have signed on to and indeed helped define the 2020 FIA rules are Toyota, McLaren, Ford, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Toyota has been the only one to show what an actual car might look like. There’s no word on when the street-legal version might debut, only a vague promise from Tomoyama:

“We started this project because we believe that creating a super sports car that delivers the same appeal as the TS050 Hybrid greatly adds to Toyota’s involvement in WEC. And at some point in the near future, customers will have a chance to get behind the wheel of this incredible machine and experience its astonishing power and driving performance.”

 

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6 Responses to NEWS: Toyota confirms production of 986-horsepower supercar

  1. Nathan says:

    Toyota has been knocking it out of the park lately. Hopefully, with a win this weekend at Le Mans – Toyota has had way too much bad luck over the years – it will have another.

  2. Alf’s Ugly Mother says:

    Never thought I’d see the day when Toyota started stickin’ it to “THE MAN”.
    Yota bringing the heat, bro!

  3. Brian says:

    That is super ugly. What are they thinking? The FT1 concept looks really nice yet they dont release it as a supra for sale. Instead this ugly looking monstrocity comes out.

  4. Travis says:

    Toyota is bringing to the Germans once again ?

    This car will be epic to see in the Toyota showroom. Don’t care if I can’t afford it it’s still badass

  5. Jorge Mata says:

    It better be fast and stick to the road as if it’s glued because it’s butt ugly with that bullet nose and plain backside.

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