Hybrid Toyota and Audi Le Mans racers come to the fore ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Scheduled for the weekend of June 16 and 17, the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans promises to be a historic one; not one but two hybrid cars are in with a fighting chance for outright victory. Thanks to the relatively open regulations two distinctly different paths have been taken by new rivals Toyota and Audi. The only major restrictions are the number of charge cycles (7 per lap) and the amount of energy that can be stored during one of those cycles (500 kJ). During this weekend's Le Mans Test, the two new cars went head to head for the first time and it was also the public debut for the all-new Toyota, so it was about time we took a closer look at the cars that are expected to star at the sharp end of the grid next week.
Some years in the making, the Toyota TS030 Hybrid uses a supercapacitor based hybrid system with a single electric motor mounted in unit with the purpose-built, 3.4 litre petrol V8. Developed in Japan, the drivetrain was then fitted into a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis that was designed and built in Toyota Motorsport's Cologne, Germany facility where until 2009 the Formula 1 machines originated from. Following a heavy accident in testing, Toyota was forced to postpone their public debut until the Le Mans Test. Fortunately two cars will be ready to race but the lack of experience and development time may drop the two Toyotas from contention at any time. The objective is to run the TS030 Hybrid as hard as possible for as long as possible.
Audi already debuted their R18 e-tron quattro last month during the FIA WEC race at Spa. Also being a hybrid is about where the similarities stop as the R18 boasts a diesel engine, two front-mounted electric motors and a Williams Hybrid Power sourced flywheel to store the harvested kinetic energy. Hedging their bets, Audi will also field two more conventional R18 Ultras, which are not fitted with the hybrid drive. Showing good reliability, with a second and third at Spa, behind one of those R18 Ultras, and setting the two fastest times during the Test, it seems that the R18 e-tron quattro has the best shot of becoming the first hybrid car to win Le Mans outright.

Enjoy the links:

2012 Audi R18 e-tron quattro - Images, Specifications and Information

2012 Toyota TS030 Hybrid - Images, Specifications and Information

[demonrunning07]

forgive me if this is a stupid question as I really don't follow much motorsport but since when were LMP cars allowed to be AWD?

[pimento]

Originally Posted by demonrunning07

forgive me if this is a stupid question as I really don't follow much motorsport but since when were LMP cars allowed to be AWD?

Since the hybrid regulations said that if they feel so inclined, they can send the electric drive to the front wheels.

[demonrunning07]

Interesting. Thanks for your reply!