TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has revealed a revised GR010 HYBRID Hypercar for the 2023 season, when it will defend its number one status against new competitors at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).The team’s run of success, which so far includes five consecutive Le Mans wins and four straight WEC title doubles, will be challenged by more Hypercar participants than before in a seven-race 2023 season, which includes the centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche and Vanwall join existing Hypercar competition from Peugeot and Glickenhaus to form a 13-car grid in WEC, with even more cars likely at Le Mans in what is expected to be a closely-fought contest for the biggest prize in endurance racing.The GR010 HYBRID was the first Hypercar to break cover back in January 2021 and it has undergone a program of detail evolutions in key areas, as it did for 2022, to optimize reliability and efficiency.
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Adjustments have been made to the high-performance Racing Hybrid powertrain, which consists of 520kW (707PS) 3.5-liter engine and 200kW (272PS) electric motor, to reduce weight and improve reliability, exploiting the unique knowledge gained from more than a decade of experience with hybrid powertrains at Le Mans.The most visible changes on the 2023 evolution GR010 HYBRID concern the bodywork. New dive plane aerodynamic devices on the front corners and a smaller rear wing end plate, as well as other detail changes, have been implemented to enhance drivability and aerodynamic consistency.
Modifications have also been made to the bodywork with the target of improving brake cooling and allowing quick changes to cooling options during a race, achieved through new vents at the front and rear. Additionally, a revised headlight lay-out has been implemented to optimize visibility during night driving.
Under the bodywork, the GR010 HYBRID has gone undergone a weight-saving program to bring the overall weight down to the minimum 1040kg allowed by regulations. That addresses compromises made during the car’s design phase in 2020, which were the result of how the Hypercar regulations evolved.
SOURCE: Green Car Congress