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The Toyota TS050 - Hybrid '16 is a LMP1 race car produced by Toyota. It appears in Gran Turismo Sport and Gran Turismo 7.

Two TS050s were entered in the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, the first (car #5) was driven by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Anthony Davidson, while the second (car #6) was driven by Mike Conway, Stéphane Sarrazin, and Kamui Kobayashi. The car finished respectively in 8th and 3rd in the Driver's Championship, while Toyota finished in 3rd place at the Manufacturers' Championship. This is reflected in the name it had in GT Sport, Toyota TS050 - Hybrid (Toyota Gazoo Racing) '16.

The car represented in the game is based on its appearance at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, where car #5, although in the lead for the majority of the race, ended up being not classified in the official standings, due to mechanical issues in the final minutes of the race, which caused the car to complete the final lap of the race in 11:53.815 while the maximum allowed time was of 6 minutes, thus leading to its non-classification. Car #6, however, finished the race in 2nd place overall.

In-game description[]

Car Index (GT7)[]

The TS050 Hybrid is a prototype racing car, developed by Toyota in 2016 to compete in the LMP1 class of the FIA World Endurance Championships, which includes the famed Le Mans 24 hour race. Two years prior to this, in 2014, Toyota became the series champion in the TS040 Hybrid. In 2015 they ended the season in 3rd place, and the TS050 was developed from scratch to attempt a return to the top once again.

As with its predecessor, the car was still an all-wheel drive hybrid with a MGU in the front and rear wheels, but the powertrain was greatly changed from the previous naturally aspirated 3.7 litre V8 to a twin turbocharged direct injection 2.4 litre V6. The battery was changed from the super capacitor with fast charge and discharge characteristics to a high power lithium-ion battery developed for racing, with a high power storage capacity. The total system output, including the engine and front/rear motors, is 986 BHP, making it equal to the TS040 in this respect, but the torque had been increased significantly due to the turbocharging.

Also, the MGU of the front wheels was made more compact, which allowed design changes to redirect the airflow under the car, further improving its aerodynamic performance.

Two TS050 Hybrids participated in the World Endurance Championships from the Toyota Gazoo Racing team. One was driven by Kazuki Nakajima / Sébastien Buemi / Anthony Davidson, and the other car was driven by Kamui Kobayashi / Stéphane Sarrazin / Mike Conway. In 2016 the Kobayashi team showed great speed and were a contender for the Driver's Championship, but in the end they finished 3rd in the season rankings, and also placing 3rd in the Manufacturer's rankings.

Brand Central (GT7)[]

This prototype, introduced at Le Mans in 2016, was yet another effort from Toyota to grab that elusive title. The naturally-aspirated V-8 of its predecessor, the TS040, was replaced with a twin-turbocharged V-6. In fact, almost everything, from the battery system to its aerodynamics, was totally redesigned. Although its 986.2 HP power output was similar to the TS040, the way it behaved on the track was totally different.

Café (GT7)[]

Jeremy[]

Toyota have been entering hybrid racing cars into Le Mans since 2012... With their first victory coming in 2018. The cars had displayed very impressive speed every year, but couldn't quite translate that speed into victory. There were some close calls, though. In 2016 the car stopped while leading, with just one lap to go! The victorious Porsche team couldn't believe their luck. It just made the eventual victory in 2018 even sweeter, though. I remember it clearly—I was so happy! What's more, Toyota would go on to win four in a row, including the most recent one in 2021![1]

Acquisition[]

Game Purchase location Credits Other methods
Gran Turismo Sport Toyota Brand Central 1,000,000 ---
Gran Turismo 7 Toyota Brand Central 1,000,000 ---

Trivia[]

  • Later versions of this car will eventually won Le Mans three years in a row, during the 2018, 2019, and 2020 editions, and by the same drivers, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima (also wearing the same car number, #8), thus allowing Toyota to become the second Japanese manufacturer after Mazda to win Le Mans, and the first Japanese brand to have won it more than once.
    • The only difference is that in 2018 and 2019, Fernando Alonso was part of the winning team, and that in 2020, he was replaced with Brendon Hartley. The 2020 season would also see the TS050's final year of competition before being replaced with the Toyota GR010 HYBRID '21, a race car built under the new Le Mans Hypercar regulations for the 2021 season and onwards. Like its predecessor, the GR010 Hybrid was also notable for winning Le Mans, in the 2021 race and also in 2022, making it the first Le Mans-winning Hypercar.
    • The TS050 was also able to win both the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 super seasons of the FIA WEC, albeit with a different set of drivers, where the 2018-2019 season was won by Alonso, Buemi and Nakajima (#8), the following season was won by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez (#7). This marks Toyota's third FIA WEC championship title (the first one was won in 2014 with its predecessor, the TS040).
    • The TS050 is also notable for setting a lap record of 3:14.791 driven by Kamui Kobayashi during qualifying for the 2017 race, which is the fastest record set with the current chicane layout.

Notes[]

  1. Toyota now has five 24 Hours of Le Mans wins in a row, as of March 2023.
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