The never ending Toyota return to Le Mans (LMP1) Saga

[DeutschRenn]

It's interesting, its almost as if Toyota has a ton of pressure on them to perform....The mood on the threads here seems like everyone is hoping that they do really well.(not that thats a bad thing)...but just extrapolating from these threads....Toyota probably has a lot of pressure on their shoulders to finish Lemans in some kind of decent position.

[tux]

I would have thought the fact they are an official factory Toyota project would add enough pressure already. I am sure the big bosses of Toyota are not going to throw 20,30 who knows how many millions at this for them just to say, have a nice couple of weeks in France boys.

[The Badger]

Well , they did pull the plug on the last effort , when they most likely woulda won the following year .

Bet that still gets right up their nose's !!!

[TF110]

Yeah, I think they're playing down what they've got. You don't brag and boast about a yet to be raced car! Japanese are modest people, very humble, so no showboating is expected. If Pascal Vasselon is on the project, I figure it'll be VERY good. He is a former Michelin guy too. If that has any relevance.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by deggis

Hybrid believed to use super-capacitors. In addition to modified Dome S101 it has been tested in a purpose-built Dome complying with the regs (what regs? '10/11?).

I would think it's the modified S102 as they say the car was shipped to Cologne some time in the past 10 months.

[TF110]

But we hear that it's a new car made by TMG, so this must be the same rumor we heard and speculated about? Or is there more to it?

[deggis]

Originally Posted by TF110

But we hear that it's a new car made by TMG, so this must be the same rumor we heard and speculated about? Or is there more to it?

Umm? Three cars in total. The two test mules bought/commissioned from Dome and this 100% TMG car.

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by TF110

But we hear that it's a new car made by TMG, so this must be the same rumor we heard and speculated about? Or is there more to it?

The car is TMG designed and developed. However, their starting point could be said to have been S102. So says a little birdie.

[DeutschRenn]

The S102 was good car. Didnt it do a 3.26 at lemans on its debut. That car had some speed....even though the Peugeots where running 3.18's at the time. Not a bad chassis at all...considering it was running the judd engine...(that speaks to the aero on that S102).

[lms]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

The car is TMG designed and developed. However, their starting point could be said to have been S102. So says a little birdie.

A three year old chassis? Somehow i find that hard to believe. I thought that they might use the old chassis just to test a few things, and they will design a brand new one...
On the other hand, that drawing of the car is quite similar to the old dome...

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by lms

A three year old chassis? Somehow i find that hard to believe. I thought that they might use the old chassis just to test a few things, and they will design a brand new one...
On the other hand, that drawing of the car is quite similar to the old dome...

You're drawing a conclusion that wasn't mentioned. Nothing was said of anything specific on the S102 being used. It was said that the S102 could have been a starting point (*wink, wink*).

If someone "hands" you a well developed concept, you're going to be immensely better off when you start yours...

Of course no one at Dome will acknowledge this. And yes, I've asked; no comment was the reply--actually, the reply was, very politely, even if such a agreement did exist, naturally Dome would be governed by NDAs and we couldn't discuss it. Understandable. And I seriously doubt anyone at TMG will discuss this either. But, it's been said nonetheless.

And don't get me wrong, this isn't a point of "controversy." I'm simply interested in getting to the bottom of the Dome connection so that in 20 years I don't have to go through all this BS again, but now running through 20 year old memories.

[lms]

okay

[Livininthinair]

The weak point of the S102 was the Judd engine compared to Peugeot and Audi. It would be a great starting point to develop a new car based on its underlying design (aero concept) and have a head start opposed to starting from scratch. In my opininon the S102 always looked like an evolutionary step forward from the GTone anyway and can't wait to see this next step in development.


...Mike I just read your site about the "big honkin holes", I'm having a hard time envisioning what this would look like without making the car look like swiss cheese - are the # of holes mandated or just the overall area they cover? - SORRY OFF SUBJECT I KNOW...

[MitchZ06]

Big Honking Holes - areas to be covered by louvers right?

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by Livininthinair

The weak point of the S102 was the Judd engine compared to Peugeot and Audi. It would be a great starting point to develop a new car based on its underlying design (aero concept) and have a head start opposed to starting from scratch. In my opininon the S102 always looked like an evolutionary step forward from the GTone anyway and can't wait to see this next step in development.


...Mike I just read your site about the "big honkin holes", I'm having a hard time envisioning what this would look like without making the car look like swiss cheese - are the # of holes mandated or just the overall area they cover? - SORRY OFF SUBJECT I KNOW...

As for the holes, my understanding they are just as they sound, uncovered holes adding up to the area prescribed (1000 cm^2 per fender, front and rear). I will double check on that.

[TF110]

Is Pascal Vasselon involved with this project? If the unraced F1 car was nearly as good as he said, perhaps the effort put into THIS project will show just what he and their team are capable of?

[Pandamasque]

I'd expect most of the 'team' to be far gone by now. It's not like they would be sitting around waiting for Toyota to go racing again.

[TF110]

That has already been discussed, by team I am referring to who they have brought on and back. Just because they left F1 doesn't mean everyone got laid off. We'll find out soon.

[cdsvg]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

As for the holes, my understanding they are just as they sound, uncovered holes adding up to the area prescribed (1000 cm^2 per fender, front and rear). I will double check on that.

This is interesting, so no louvres, just big ole holes in the tops of the fenders?

I did a quick check to see just how big 1000cm^2 looks, and to be honest it really isnt any bigger than the louvre areas we're used to seeing (though usually not on the rear fenders). So in terms of size, anyway, its nothing major.

(all assuming I measured everything correctly... )

[kurski]

Originally Posted by TF110

Is Pascal Vasselon involved with this project?

I do not think, because Vasselon left the Toyota team january 2010.

[DeathOrGlory]

Samurai-san, I'm glad to see Hasemi back in Super GT, Hoshino, and Hasemi are Nissan legends and I was sad to see Hasemi step back this year, right after getting the GT300 crown with Yanagida and Hoshino Kazuki.

For me however, it was Yanagida's redemption after being erratic in his younger days in NISMO and in Hasemi in GT500. Glad to see the man get his just desserts. I'm also watching the full race replays on Youtube, Super GT trumps a lot of series, for action and variety.

And seeing lots of people attend the races despite the earthquake makes me smile. Gambaro Nippon!

[DeathOrGlory]

The louvers are there to provide downforce, now with no louvers, expect strange looking appendages to sprout just to find some.

[MulsanneMike]

Originally Posted by cdsvg

This is interesting, so no louvres, just big ole holes in the tops of the fenders?

I did a quick check to see just how big 1000cm^2 looks, and to be honest it really isnt any bigger than the louvre areas we're used to seeing (though usually not on the rear fenders). So in terms of size, anyway, its nothing major.

(all assuming I measured everything correctly... )

You're sure about your math? We're looking at nearly 4 times the area: 260 cm^2 vs 1000 cm^2. Realize its 1000 cm^2 per fender, front and rear: 4000 cm^2 in total.

[JAG]

Does the opening for the wheel have to be on top, could it not be cut away at the rear or inside the wheel like the 905?

[cdsvg]

Originally Posted by MulsanneMike

You're sure about your math? We're looking at nearly 4 times the area: 260 cm^2 vs 1000 cm^2. Realize its 1000 cm^2 per fender, front and rear: 4000 cm^2 in total.

It didnt look quite right to me either, but I took the plan view into photoshop, and assuming the width of the car is 200cm, then the area of *each* hole does come to around 1000cm^2 (the dimensions of each hole from the top view are about 24cm x 43cm).

Maybe ive messed up the measurement somehow. How big are you expecting them to look in comparison to the louvres on the current cars?

For reference, using the same measurements, the length of my car excluding the rear wing comes to 4.64m (the original model was based on the 06 RS spyder).