A Very Cool Hybrid Race Car

Did you know Toyota is deeply involved in auto racing?  It’s true!  And not only is Toyota deeply involved in auto racing, the company does so by pushing the boundaries of technology with Hybrid powered race cars.  Hybrid technology isn’t just for the Toyota Hybrid vehicles we love to drive to work or to the store!

TOYOTA Racing recently unveiled their new Toyota TS040 HYBRID race car for the upcoming race season.  It features a combination of a 3.7-liter V-8 gasoline engine and Hybrid motors to power all four wheels, a powertrain concept in development since 2007.  The unique powertrain is  developed to comply with current racing regulations which emphasize fuel efficiency, stipulating reducing the amount of fuel used by 25 percent.  The ability to stop is also important in a race car; the Toyota TS040 HYBRID race car uses a combination of traditional mechanical brakes and reverse action of the electric motors to apply braking force.

Car companies often compete in racing activities; racing helps car companies develop and refine technology that makes its way into vehicles we enjoy every day.  When it comes to great Toyota vehicles like the 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid available at Schaumburg Toyota, some of the advanced technology employed in race cars may help make Toyota cars more efficient, more powerful, and more reliable.

And the Hybrid powered Toyota cars at our Des Plaines-area Toyota dealership are lots of fun to drive too (just watch those speed limits).

Technology found in the predecessor to the Toyota TS040 HYBRID has already made its way into Toyota road cars, although you may not be able to see it quite so visibly as you might in an extroverted race car.  With the racing organization’s focus on technology relevant to road cars such as the push towards better fuel efficiency, racing technology is expected to continue to find its way into road the cars we love in our Toyota showroom at Schaumburg Toyota.

“As a team we learned a lot in our first two seasons in WEC and all this know-how has gone into our new TS040 HYBRID, which is the most technologically advanced TOYOTA ever to compete on the track,” said Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President.  “We consider it very important that our racing program contributes to TOYOTA’s wider activities and I am very proud that data, knowledge and technology pass regularly from our racing program to our R&D colleagues, who are working to make great road cars of the future.”