Toyota GR Super Sport hypercar racer revealed

The race version of the upcoming Toyota GR Super Sport has been unveiled ahead of its debut in the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Officially named the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, the Japanese racer comes equipped with an advanced hybrid powertrain that will be shared with the road-going hypercar.

Competing against the Peugeot HYBRID4 500KW and others, the Toyota GR010 Hybrid combines a 500kW twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine and a 213kW electric motor.

The petrol engine drives the rear wheels via a seven-speed sequential gearbox while the electric motor powers the front wheels, providing all-wheel drive.

The rear axle will come with a traction-boosting limited-slip differential, double wishbones are employed at each corner, along with pushrod dampers and carbon-ceramic brakes.

All are expected to feature on the road-going version.

With total power capped to 500kW and a minimum weight of 1100kg, the Toyota will be one of the world’s fastest street cars, especially when you consider that without the mandated power limit, the GR Super Sport’s trick hybrid powertrain can produce more than 735kW.

In compliance with the new hypercar WEC rules, the race-trim Toyota produces no more than 500kW, with the petrol powertrain wound back to around 300kW until the battery is depleted, at which point it can return to the full 500kW.

To ensure there’s no cheating, sensors broadcast how much power is being transmitted to all four wheels to the FIA in real time during a race.

Weighing in at around 162kg heavier than the Toyota LMP1 racer it replaces, the GR010 produces 32 per cent less power than before, while its road car dimensions (250mm longer, 100mm wider and 100mm taller) means Toyota expects lap times to be around 10 seconds slower.

The reasoning behind the bigger, less powerful approach is the FIA is attempting to make the hypercar series a cheaper championship to race in for car-makers.

That said, Toyota had to completely redesign its GR racer, while there is now only one adjustable aerodynamic aid.

Set to make its competitive debut in March, with Toyota primed to field two hypercars – one driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayahi, Jose Maria Lopez and the other Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendan Hartley.

There's no word yet on when Toyota plans to reveal its flagship road-going Toyota GR Super Sport hypercar, but when it arrives it will do battle with both the track-bred Mercedes-AMG ONE and the wild Aston Martin Valkyrie.