Toyota GT One 1998-1999

[md11]

There are actually two Toyota TS020 road cars.

Toyota words:

One of the quirks of the GT1 class that the TS020 competed in in 1998 was that a small number of production cars had to be made to meet the rules. Engineers at Toyota Motorsport GmbH created just two ‘production’ TS020 GT-Ones – one is on display in its museum, the other in Japan.

The "museum" car is the car in the lat pictures.

I think the first one to bend the rules on how many cars were required to be made road legal was Porsche with the 1996 GT1 and then Nissan followed suit with the R390 in 1997. Panoz went a similar route with the GT1, while Mercedes was probably the only one to "play nice" with the 25 CLK GTRs, but only one or two LMs. Similarly I think there are only two Lotus Elise GT1 cars.
I don't think Lister ever built 25 Storms though, while the Bugatti Eb110 was never really intended as a race car.

I sure loved GT racing in those BPR days, and it only took two years for the FIA to mess up with the formula and shut down the championship.

[pimento]

Well, actually the earlier 'have to make 25' or whatever era cars have already been tested several times, since the GT1 category was originally created to allow (then current) supercars to race in endurance motorsport. Cars like the Ferrari F40, the Jaguar XJ220, Bugatti EB110 or the McLaren F1.

Then Porsche and Daimler perverted the original spirit of the rules by creating barely road legal purpose built racing cars and then Toyota found that they didn't have to produce 25 road cars at all, one was enough.

And finally the original GT1 category was no more.

The F40, XJ220, EB110 and F1 were all conceived as road cars though. I meant more the barely disguised racers that only have license plates on them because they had to do it to go racing, and specifically it would be all but impossible to have Toyota, Nissan et all let the Top Gear yobs thrash the one/two-off models about on a race track. Models that got sold to private owners could be begged or borrowed if the owners were willing, sure.

[RacingManiac]

The Between 97 and 98 was when the rule changed to needing just one. Both the CLK-GTR->CLK-LM and from 1997-> 1998 911 GT1 were big enough change that they are different cars.

[Ferrer]

But, actually in the early days of GT1 cars like a turbocharged NSX or a rear wheel drive Skyline GT-R were entered in Le Mans. Those weren't produced in 25 units either, were they?

[Kitdy]

The rules fluctuated rapidly in the 90s as I recall in all classes at Le Mans. C died, and LMPs early days had the V10s which blew up, GT1 had a few iterations and so forth.

[pimento]

But, actually in the early days of GT1 cars like a turbocharged NSX or a rear wheel drive Skyline GT-R were entered in Le Mans. Those weren't produced in 25 units either, were they?

I'm thinking that the difference is that the CLK-GTR and first 911 GT1 iterations were made and homologated for the full GT race series, where the one-offs were only for LeMans. I guess the ACO were more lenient than the FIA.

[Ferrer]

I'm thinking that the difference is that the CLK-GTR and first 911 GT1 iterations were made and homologated for the full GT race series, where the one-offs were only for LeMans. I guess the ACO were more lenient than the FIA.

Hadn't thought of that; could very well be the reason.