Audi has the R18 e-tron quattro, Porsche has the 919 Hybrid and now Toyota has revealed its TS040 contender for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), and it's a hybrid as well. All of these cars have come about due to new technical regulations for the WEC, which put the emphasis on fuel economy.
Fear not, though, because the mighty Toyota TS040 isn't some track-altered version of the Prius. For a start, it has a 520hp 3.7-litre V8 engine, which you might think is more than adequate, but its hybrid system is quite ingenious. Two kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) in the form of motor-generators on each axle not only harvest otherwise wasted energy under deceleration, they actually assist the mechanical brakes in slowing the car even more effectively. These motors send their stored energy to a super-capacitor via an inverter, and then reverse their function under acceleration, sending extra power to all four wheels.
How much, I hear you ask? A neat 480hp, that's how much, which brings the TS040's total output to a whopping 1,000hp. Toyota says the car is a 'major evolution' of its predecessor (see below), in light of the latest regulations, which dictate the racers must use 25 per cent less fuel than they did in 2013.
The TS040 was revealed at Paul Ricard, in France, and at the time of writing has already completed 12 days of testing. Its first competitive outing will be at the Six Hours of Silverstone on April 20, and of course it will also be at the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 14.
Anything else?
It's not Toyota's first hybrid racer, though, as the preceding TS030 was also fitted with a KERS device that could power the rear wheels - that had the distinction of being the first petrol-powered hybrid to enter the WEC.
And if you're looking at all these TS codes and thinking they're familiar, they might be if you're an avid Le Mans fan... or a Gran Turismo addict. The fearsome Toyota GT-One of the late 1990s was codenamed the TS020, and its starring performances on the Circuit de la Sarthe ensured it was digitally rendered into all the versions of GT that have issued forth since. There was, of course, also a TS010 Group C predecessor, but we could be here all day...