Toyota TS030 Gets Update for 2013, Ahead of Major Update in 2014

ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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has taken the subtle route for its upgrades to the 2013 TS030 HybridToyota TS030 HYBRIDJapan, 2012 > present5 photos
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prototype, but it says that it is already working on an entirely new car for the 2014 season.

The TS030 was a major surprise last year. No one expected it to be so competitive against AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
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so quickly, let alone take three wins in six races.

“There is a major regulation change in 2014 so this year’s car has to be an evolution of our initial concept. The obvious target is to fix all the little issues we have found during the last season,” said Pascal Vasselon, technical director of the TS030.

This year’s car is an evolution of last year’s car. The powertrain still produces 300hp from its electric motor and 530hp from its 3.4-liter V8. Toyota says that it has made changes to the electric portion to improve reliability and efficiency.

The entire car has also been upgraded to improve ease of service, which comes after the team had to be retired from the WEC race in Bahrain when the team was not able to easily service the car.

Toyota also upgraded the monocoque to cope with the 15kg increase of the minimum weight of LMP1 cars for 2013.

The major change for the Toyota team is that it will compete with two cars in the entire WEC series this season. Last year it only raced with two cars at Le Mans. The #7 car has the same driver lineup as last year with Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima. The new #8 car will be driven by Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin, and Sébastien Buemi.

The WEC begins on April 14 at Silverstone. We will have to wait until then to see if Toyota’s updates are enough to cope with the upgraded R18Audi R18 e-tron quattroGermany, 2012 > present8 photos
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.

“We are motivated by winning so our ambition is to win Le Mans for the first time and to win our first FIA World Championship title since the World Rally Championship in 1999,” said Rob Leupen, Toyota Motorsports GmbH’s director of business operations.

For 2014, all factory-backed LMP1 cars will have to be coupes and hybrids. There is no limit on engine power, layout or displacement, but teams will get a measured amount of fuel per lap based on the power of their hybrid systems. PorschePorscheGermany, 1931 > present43 models
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has confirmed that it will enter the LMP1 class in 2014, and there are rumors that there could be other new factory-backed cars as well.

Toyota released a video showing the car testing. Although Toyota has not said anything about it, the car sounds much, much more aggressive than last year's car.