Le Mans Yesterday and Today: Toyota

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.

Toyota's early years at Le Mans didn’t bring notable results. However, the experience gained in building prototypes set them on a path to target overall 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.

In 1992, Toyota secured its first podium finish at Le Mans with a second-place finish. This fueled the drive to keep chasing victory. An achievement repeated in 1994 with the 94C-V.

In 1993, a regulation change saw the end of Group C cars in favor of LM GT1 class cars, theoretically derived from production models but in reality, true prototypes. Toyota built only one street-legal version of their GT-One, which secured pole position at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours and once again finished second overall. However, Toyota's patience ran out, and the Le Mans program was paused while the company focused on its own official Formula 1 team.

In 1999, Toyota secured pole position in qualifying and yet again finished second overall at Le Mans with the GT-One.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Toyota made a major comeback at Le Mans. Their car, the revolutionary TS030 Hybrid, leveraged the arrival of hybrid propulsion technology. Toyota had already showcased its expertise in this field by launching the Prius, the world’s first hybrid production car, in 1997. Despite their advanced technology, they faced two tough rivals: Audi and Porsche, who dominated the top step of the podium from 2012 to 2017. One particularly painful episode came in 2016 when the TS050, driven by Kazuki Nakajima, stopped during the final lap due to an electrical issue while leading the race. Toyota's sportsmanship in handling the crushing disappointment was commendable, and their competitors paid tribute to them. But once again, victory slipped through their fingers.

After a break in the early 2000s to focus on Formula 1, Toyota returned to Le Mans with the TS030 Hybrid.

Toyota's perseverance finally paid off in 2018 when Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima claimed victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing ahead of their sister car in a historic one-two finish. This victory marked the beginning of a dominant five-year stretch for Toyota at Le Mans, which lasted until 2022. Today, Toyota competes in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with their Hypercar GR010, although it has yet to reclaim the Le Mans title, having been beaten by the Ferrari 499P in both 2023 and 2024. All eyes now turn to June 14-15, 2025, to see if the Japanese manufacturer can add another chapter to their history.

Toyota finally won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 with Alonso, Buemi, and Nakajima leading a one-two finish. This triumph began a five-year winning streak.