Skip to content

BRAKING NEWS: Toyota dominates Le Mans with twin hybrids

A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird: Toyota wins Le Mans, plans supercar While it didn’t have much competition to contend with, victory was far from assured for Toyota’s Le Mans effort this year.
toyota
Toyota hybrids race their way to first and second place in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. photo Toyota

A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:

Toyota wins Le Mans, plans supercar

While it didn’t have much competition to contend with, victory was far from assured for Toyota’s Le Mans effort this year. The most famous endurance race in the world is a battlefield strewn with the shattered egos of the self-assured, and it’s not like the company has had much luck before. Despite fielding convincingly fast and reliable machines in past outings, the Toyota team has thus far come up short. Not this time.

Success at last. Finishing first and second, both Toyota TS050 hybrids were a full 12 laps ahead of the third-place finisher. This was the team’s 20th event, and the victory was made sweeter by the waiting.

Charismatic but unlucky F1 champion Fernando Alonso was at the wheel, suggesting perhaps that more than just Toyota is breaking their losing streak here (Alonso hasn’t won in F1 in five years). There’s a chance he could go back to the Indy 500 and try for motorsport’s vaunted triple crown: Monaco, Indy, and Le Mans.

In the meantime, there’s even more shocking news as Toyota has announced they’ll be making a road-going version of their endurance racer. The GR Super Sport concept is reportedly heading to production in some form, equipped with a twin-turbocharged V-6 and hybrid system good for a combined 1,000 horsepower. This won’t be some heavy-hitter luxury Bugatti Veyron rival either, but a stripped-out racing machine capable of producing astounding pace.

This is all very exciting stuff, but can the Toyota fan in me raise a hand and ask when we can get something a little more downmarket? The current Toyota 86 is pretty good, but its roots are more Subaru than Toyota. What about a machine that channels the best attributes of the Corolla GT-S or Celica?

Mazda MX-5 officially gets more power

The current Mazda MX-5 doesn’t need any more power than it currently has. This little car already runs through the quarter-mile in the 14 second range, which is far quicker than most of its predecessors, and if you can’t carry that momentum around a track, maybe the problem is behind the wheel, not under the hood.

However, that’s not to say there’s not room for improvement. The 2.0-litre engine in the current car redlines out at 6,800 r.p.m., where the 1.5-litre versions rev some 700 r.p.m. higher. That might not seem like a big deal, but the MX-5 is totally the kind of car to make you want to wring it out on your favourite backroad. It’s supposed to be revvy and quick and accessible.

Good news then, as Mazda’s updated 2019 version will come with a new 7,500 r.p.m. redline thanks to a lightened rotating assembly. Power is now up to 181 h.p., although torque remains the same. If you’re looking for more of a cruiser, maybe you can get a good deal on the current model – it’s still some of the most fun you can have behind the wheel.

Porsche buys chunk of Rimac electric supercar company

Back to the electrified supercar stuff for a bit. Rimac, who you might not have heard of, is a small, boutique supercar maker that produces some blazingly fast all-electric machines. The performance is eye-watering, and so is the cost: their upcoming Concept Two will have some 2,000 h.p., and a price tag in the millions.

So, you probably won’t be able to afford one for a bit. However, it may be of interest to note that Porsche has just bought a 10 per cent stake in Rimac. Supercar manufacturing is a dangerous game, as market shifts have pulled many of the big names under. Where Rimac ultimately wants to be is as a supplier to the established marques.

With Porsche’s all-electric effort, now called the Taycan (it’s a pretty terrible name; I liked Mission-E better), soon to arrive, the timing for the partnership couldn’t be better. Electrified performance won’t please the purists who’ll miss the sound of internal combustion, but the instant torque will please everyone else. A plug-in Porsche 911 that can out-drag a Tesla Model S but still provide some nimble handling around your favourite racetrack? Sign me up.

Ford and VW in talks to co-develop vans

It’s doubtful that you’re much interested in commercial vans. Perhaps you perk up when you’re expecting something cool to come from Amazon, but the rest of the time, these useful boxes are just background noise.

But hear me now when I say a potential alliance between Ford and VW could be great news for a particular kind of enthusiast. For years, we’ve watched while the excellent VW Transporter has remained forever out of reach, taunting us with memories of the old VW Microbus and Westfalia. But what if it finally came over?

It’s a little early to fire off the confetti cannon just yet, but a commercial partnership between Ford and VW would mean wider certification of vans for the North American market. And, with these vans already over here, it’d just make sense for VW to offer a customer variant, perhaps even one with a pop-top camper. Dare to dream, man.

mcaleer.nsnews@gmail.com