Cars
Le Mans Yesterday and Today: Toyota
Toyota's journey at Le Mans began in 1985. After years of setbacks, they claimed victory in 2018 with Alonso, Buemi, and Nakajima. They dominated for five consecutive years but have been chasing the title again since 2023.
Roarington's journey through the most successful manufacturers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans today reaches Toyota, ranked seventh in the all-time standings. The Japanese automaker's adventure in the world’s most famous and challenging endurance race began in 1985 with prototypes developed according to Group C regulations, in collaboration with Dome, a company specializing in the preparation of closed and open-wheel race cars, and Tom's, Toyota's official tuner since 1975. However, the decision to use a small 2.1-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, derived from a production model, proved to be a weak point, relegating their four cars to the back of the pack without enough competitiveness or reliability to challenge for victory.
The road to victory at Le Mans was steep for Toyota until 1992, when the first podium finish was secured, coming in second place behind the Peugeot 905 Evo. This achievement boosted the morale of the team and engineers, and two years later, with the updated 94C-V car, they again came close to victory but finished second once more.
