Toyota TS010 Le Mans

In 1992, the Toyota TS010 finishes second at Le Mans and Toyota wins the constructors title in Group C of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (JSPC).

Due to regulation changes in the World Sportscar Championship, Toyota replaced its Group C cars with 3.6 litre, V8 turbo-charged engines with a 3.5 litre, V10 engine without turbo in 1991. However, a whole new chassis was needed for the new engine and this was developed by Tony Southgate, a former car designer with Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The TS010 made its debut at the end of 1991 on the Autopolis circuit in Japan, finishing sixth overall in the last race of the WSC. Dutchman Jan Lammers participated in the WSC at Suzuka that year, finishing in second place with a TS-010; at Magny-Cours he came third. Both the WSC and the JSPC were cancelled in 1993, so Toyota only entered for Le Mans. They built three new, lighter and smaller cars and the engine was enhanced: the V10 now produced 600 hp, enabling the car to reach a top speed of nearly 350 km/h. Racing drivers Eddie Irvine, Masanori Sekiya and Toshio Suzuki finished in fourth place in the overall classification; a second TS010 finished eighth.