While it is no hiding that Audi had once again dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 2014, it was Toyota and their TS040 that had taken the World Title of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). And to ensure that the title stays theirs in 2015, they had recently revealed an updated version of their TS040 hybrid race car.
The car has been fitted with new aerodynamics, a revised front end which includes crash structure and new suspension kinematics in order to optimize tire usage, and some weight saving moves. As for the powertrain, it will still feature the Toyota Hybrid System that houses a maximum output of 986-horsepower, with the loud soundtrack being supplied by the 3.7-liter V8 naturally-aspirated engine.
Similar to Audi’s R18 e-Tron, Toyota has prepped two different aerodynamic package for the season where there are still undergoing testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in France this week. The package for Le Mans is a high speed configuration to fit La Sarthe, while the rest of the circuit in the WEC calendar will use the sprint package, offering higher levels of downforce.
For this year, car #1 will be driven by Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima while car #2 will feature Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Mike Conway. In addition, former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi will be a part of the team as a test and reserve driver.
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