Autoblog

Lexus LS 650 TMG prototype headed for Essen

Jeffrey N. Ross — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Lexus, Luxury

If the newly improved 2013 Lexus LS is aimed at taking on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, then it sounds like Lexus might have a new model in mind to take on the monstrous S65 AMG. Motor Authority has images of what it claims to be a wind tunnel prototype for a souped-up LS we first saw testing on the Nürburgring a couple years ago. We already knew this car was being developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) which could become a factory tuner arm for Toyota like AMG, and the report says that the car will make its debut at the Essen Motor Show in December.

The car that will be called the TMG Lexus LS 650, but for now, it's only a "feasibility study" designed to gauge interest from customers and the media. We were already interested looking at the widebody version of the LS with massive front air intakes and hood vents, but the article in Motor Authority got our ears perked up a little more with vehicle specs that include a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 laying down more than 600 horsepower giving the big bruiser a top speed near 200 miles per hour.

Lexus LS 650 TMG prototype headed for Essen originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TMG emerging as Toyota's version of AMG?

Zach Bowman — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Sedan, Performance, Europe, Japan, Lexus, Toyota, Luxury

Toyota is getting serious about building performance versions of its current models. The manufacturer hopes to turn Toyota Motorsport GmbH, the crew behind the Toyota Le Mans effort and the automaker's now defunct Formula One team, into a factory-backed tuner. TMG currently handles almost everything motorsport related for Toyota with the exception of engine building, and the group is currently hard at work on what could develop into a World Rally Championship entry in the near future.

TMG is shooting for a WRC debut in 2014 with a turbocharged 1.6-liter Yaris, and buyers will be able to purchase an FIA version of the model for around €25,000. According to Yoshiaki Kinoshita, president of TMG, the organization will also prepare high-performance versions of Lexus vehicles. That helps explain the Lexus LS460 TMG Edition our photographers spotted at the Nürburgring last year. When asked about the LS460, Kinoshita said every part of the vehicle had been substantially reworked by his team, including the engine, suspension and bodywork. The model could be confirmed for production in as little as six to nine months.

TMG emerging as Toyota's version of AMG? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota snags Davidson, Buemi to drive TS030 at Le Mans

Noah Joseph — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:05:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Toyota

F1 drivers typically have a shelf life shorter than what you otherwise might call a career. As the constant stream of new, young drivers usurps existing F1 seats, you're left with a wealth of talent available to contest other forms of motorsport. That's how you end up with former grand prix pilots in other series like IndyCar, DTM and even ice racing. Then there's Le Mans.

Every year the most famous of endurance races packs its grid with rejects from the Formula One circus, and 2012 is no exception, particularly with Toyota launching a works effort out of the German facility that used to house its F1 team. Toyota has already confirmed that the first of its TS030 Hybrid LMP1 racers will be driven by former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima (along with Nicolas Lapierre), and has now announced that Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi are on the roster for the second car.

Davidson is an established F1 test driver, having worked for the team known successively as BAR, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes. He's also driven a handful of grands prix for Super Aguri and Minardi, and contested Le Mans and related series for Aston Martin Racing and Peugeot Sport, including a win at Sebring.

Buemi drove the last three F1 seasons for Scuderia Toro Rosso until being cut this year. He'll combine his endurance racing debut with his test driver role at Red Bull Racing.

They'll be joined by Hiroaki Ishiura, who has driven for Toyota teams in Super GT and the Nürburgring 24 before helping roll out the new TS030. We'll be watching to see how they do against the returning champions at Audi, but for now you can follow the jump to dive into the full press release and check out the updated image gallery above.

Continue reading Toyota snags Davidson, Buemi to drive TS030 at Le Mans

Toyota snags Davidson, Buemi to drive TS030 at Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota begins testing new hybrid LMP1

Noah Joseph — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Hybrid, Europe, Toyota, Racing

The sudden departure of Peugeot from the Le Mans racing scene came as quite a shock, we know. But don't count the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship - or the famed 24-hour race at its center - out for the count before it's even started, because another powerhouse is already gearing up to take Peugeot's place. And that powerhouse is Toyota.

The Japanese auto giant announced its plans to build and campaign a new LMP1 racer at Le Mans and the WEC back in October. Toyota Motorsport GmbH (which ran the company's F1 team until its withdrawal in 2009) then set about designing the car, partnering with Team Oreca to help with the logistics of entering the pinnacle of endurance racing, and hired three top pilots to, you know, actually drive the thing.

With all those pieces in place, the Toyota team began testing their new prototype racer last week at the Paul Ricard test track in France. Toyota itself didn't release much in the way of details, but Alex Wurz was said to have led the shake-down, with his team-mates Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima on hand to share in the driving duties as well.

And while no "official" photos were "officially" released, Toyota PR rep Scott Brownlee tweeted a couple of snapshots to whet our appetites. The result looks, predictably enough, much like the latest LMP1 racers fielded by Audi and the departed Peugeot, but as with most things, it's what's underneath the surface that will count the most. In Toyota's sake, that would be a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain of some sort, but we'll have to wait a little while longer - as the next round of testing and the car's anticipated debut at Spa come May approach - to find out more.

Toyota begins testing new hybrid LMP1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's former F1 team re-emerges as engineering consultancy

Noah Joseph — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:18:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Toyota

The shutdown of Toyota's Formula One program should have resulted in a mass layoff of the team's personnel, right? Well it didn't. While some may have gone their separate ways, others have been hired; and despite the essential absence of an actual F1 program, Toyota Motorsport GmbH is still alive and keeping plenty busy.

Once the dust settled at the operation's Cologne headquarters, TMG remade itself into an engineering consulting business. The outfit that benefited from years of unprecedented investment from the world's largest automaker has been undertaking a variety of other tasks for new clients (in addition to specific roles it still plays for Toyota). Preparing test cars for Pirelli's new contract to supply F1 tires has been one, but according to a report in Autosport, TMG "has proved that F1 skills and technologies could be easily transfered to non-motorsport applications" as well.

As a result, TMG is closing what its own personnel describe as a "breakthrough year" that has taken it from the brink of disaster to a profitable business in its own right. Who would have figured?

[Source: Autosport]

Toyota's former F1 team re-emerges as engineering consultancy originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 12:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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