Toyota returning to Le Mans 24 Hours with new LMP1 race car

The Federation Internationale de I’Automobile, responsible for the Le Mans 24 Hours among other races, has teamed up with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to open up the World Endurance Championship for 2012.

Toyota plans on participating in several of the races with a new LMP1 prototype. While all the specs and details have not been released yet, we do know the LMP1 will feature a a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain.

Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota’s Senior Managing Officer, announced “We have completed in Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology, our participation in 2012 will be completely new. We want to make history in the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through use of our hybrid technology. In addition, we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production-car technology. We thank the ACO and the FIA for their input and assistance.”

– By: Alexandra Koken