Read about the 2012 Toyota TS030 here: Toyota TS030 (2012)
Toyota unveiled the revised TS030 at a low key event at Paul Ricard in early 2013. The 2013 LMP1 features a new chassis using some of the lessons it learned in 2012.
The team will again utilise the Toyota Hybrid System (THS-R) – Racing powertrain, developed exclusively for motorsport by TOYOTA’s Motor Sport Division in Higashifuji. A unique super capacitor-based hybrid system delivers 300hp of boost automatically, on top of the 530hp generated by a 3.4litre, normally-aspirated V8 petrol engine giving a peak power of 830bhp. Comparable to the output of a current F1 car.
Ahead of a completely new development for 2014 due to regulation changes, TOYOTA’s Motor Sport Division in Higashifuji has fine-tuned this year’s powertrain to improve power, efficiency, management of component usage and reliability.
“The major milestones in development of our hybrid system are 2012, when it was integrated into the TS030 HYBRID for the first time, and 2014, when the technical regulations change significantly. For this year we have achieved some incremental improvements while including some pre-testing of 2014 technologies. We have polished up things like power and efficiency whilst also fine-tuning the powertrain to enhance reliability. Overall we are confident we again have a very competitive and reliable powertrain” reveals Hisatake Murata, Hybrid Project Leader.
The chassis has also been modified for the upcoming season, with increased performance, reliability and serviceability the priorities. TMG, which designs, builds and operates the TS030 HYBRID, has used its extensive R&D testing facilities and experienced engineers to deliver the next evolution.
A revised aerodynamic package, including an updated monocoque, will deliver improved performance whilst minimising the impact of updated regulations in 2013 which increase the minimum weight for manufacturer LMP1 cars by 15kg.
“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. The very first one is that the 2012 car, being a laboratory car, was able to accept front and rear hybrid systems, so we have redesigned the monocoque to optimize it without the front motor. Last year’s performance was very satisfying and we felt we ticked most boxes so there has been no concept change, just refinement and optimization of the 2012 car” Technical Director Pascal Vasselon adds.
As mentioned previously much of the work on the 2013 spec TS030 has been put into correcting many of the small issues of the 2012 car as John Litjens, Project Leader Chassis explains “we were very pleased with how the car performed last year. When we started the design process we had three priorities: integrating the hybrid system, aerodynamic efficiency and tyre management. Over the course of the season our car showed itself to be very strong in all three areas so we hit our targets for our first season. Nevertheless, we found many small areas for improvement during the season. We have prioritised the most important areas and attempted to address these with the updated specification; there is always room for improvement.
We took the chance to fine-tune various aspects of the car, making an evolution of the 2012 specification rather than a new concept. We have removed the front hybrid capability, resulting in more efficient packaging and aerodynamics. This helps us to manage the 15kg minimum weight increase without compromising performance too much. Our simulations show we have made good progress in performance, and our hands-on experience suggests we have eliminated some of the serviceability issues which occasionally cost time in 2012.”
It was thought at one time that the 2012 chassis would be used by customer teams TOMS and SARD both of which have expressed a clear desire to return to Le Mans but proposed deals did not materialise.
The new car has a more central seating position for the driver (above) to improve visibility, and a new aero package that is aimed at reducing the sensitivity of the car to changing conditions.
Part of that aero package is a much lower nose, something that has resulted from the chassis redesign.
The curved rear wing endplates of the 2012 car remain in place, it remains to be seen if they flex at high speed as ones fitted to the original car did.
Read more about the TS030 in the March 2012 issue of Racecar Engineering
