- Toyota is planning a return to the World Rally Championship and to Le Mans.
- Cars and programs are now under development at Toyota Motorsport in Germany.
- Toyota has won multiple WRC titles, but never the Le Mans 24-hour classic.
TOKYO —When Americans think about Toyota in motorsport, they probably think first about NASCAR. However, the World Rally Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours also figure prominently in Toyota's back catalog. Toyota could now be back in both those prestige events within two years, according to well-placed sources in Japan, and is even planning to enter a new hybrid racecar at Le Mans.
Initial planning is now underway at Toyota's Motorsport GmbH arm in Cologne, Germany, says an insider. If all goes as planned, Toyota could be back as early as next year, but more likely it will be in 2013, according to our informant.
To return to the world rally scene, where Toyota won multiple driver and team championships in the '90s, Toyota will go with the new-shape Yaris compact, while equipping it with a new 1.6-liter turbo engine to fit the new front-drive WRC formula. A run of these new fast 1.6 Yaris sports models will have to be built and homologated and, with luck, some might even find their way to the U.S.
The new WRC program would have the appeal of pitting Toyota against Ford, Citroen, Mini and others in front-line rallying, which has a huge and long-established following in Europe.
When it comes to Le Mans, Toyota has tried many times to win the French endurance classic. This time around, the plan is to go back to the race with hybrid power. Cologne has already sketched out a prototype for Toyota's new hybrid LM car and Toyota, it's said, is now negotiating with the Le Mans organizers for a new hybrid class.
To have a hybrid car do well at Le Mans, where diesel-engined Audis and Peugeots now dominate, would be a huge fillip for Toyota. Back in 2007, Toyota won the Tokkachi 24 Hours in Japan with the Supra HV-R. Le Mans would be a far tougher, higher-profile race, and success there would resonate around the word.
Inside Line says: These World Rally and Le Mans programs look like an intelligent and logical way for Toyota to resurrect its global motorsports presence, after the ignominy of its F1 pullout in 2009. — Peter Nunn, Correspondent
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dgmail says:
03:44 AM, 02/07/2011
Shouldn't Recall Motors use that money for something else?
Like recalling and fixing the sloppy work on the cars they have already sold?
rv65 says:
01:15 AM, 02/05/2011
I've forgot that VW will likely be joining the WRC sometime next year for a partial season, with 2013 being a full season.
rv65 says:
01:07 AM, 02/05/2011
Actually a Toyota WRC program is more of a reality as Best Car has been reporting on this for quite some time along with VW's potential WRC program. I think they very well could have some good inside information. A Japanese rally driver has been reported to be doing some suspension tests on a Yaris WRC test mule. If Toyota does decide on the Yaris WRC it will be based on the 2012 model and not the 2011 model.
The new WRcars are still AWD, but lack a center differential that will cause the drivers to actually go sideways :).
Also there are more manufacturers that are planning on joining the WRC besides Mini and Toyota. VW is very close to announcing a WRC program with either the Polo, Scirocco or Golf. I've heard the VW program is in an advanced state and VW just has to announce it. I'm surprised that Inside Line hasn't been reporting as VW as it's an open secret in the WRC community. VW might continue in the Dakar Rally alongside the WRC as a stop gap measure, but Kris Nissen said that 2012 could very well be their last Dakar rally as a works team.
Even Tommi Makinen is negotiating with two manufacturers on a potential WRC program. Of course he doesn't say who they are, but they could be Saab or Kia.
Finally, Renault is working on a feasibility study which might tell them if the WRC is right for them.
Just some news in the rally world from an American WRC fan who frequents WRC related message boards.
gmhl10 says:
01:54 PM, 02/04/2011
Oooh.. a return to WRC.
Hopefully, some of that WRC stuff trickles down to production cars (unlike FORD!!!).
I wouldn't mind a Celica GT4. =)
akula1 says:
09:49 AM, 02/04/2011
I hope they learned their lesson from F1 and get first rate drivers. Why they spent all that time and money thinking they could win w/ Jarno Trulli and Co. is incomprehensible.
rexall says:
09:45 AM, 02/04/2011
IL, which is it? Are they mulling a return as the headline reads or are they actually planning to return to WRC and LeMans as your first bullet point reads? Perhaps consullt a dictionary before publishing your article?