Toyota GT-One
Encyclopedia
The Toyota GT-One was a racing car initially developed for grand touring
style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype
. It raced in the 1998
and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
.
era around 1994, Toyota decided to alter its plans in sports car racing
by moving to the production-based GT classes for 1995. Toyota decided to approach this in two ways by using two different styles of car for competition. The first was a heavily modified Toyota Supra
, referred to as the Supra LM, which would use a turbocharged inline-6. The second entry was a custom built car designed specifically to be a racing car, yet required a small number of production cars for sale in order to meet homologation regulations. This car was modified heavily from the Toyota MR2
, and became known as the SARD
MC8-R. The MC8-R would use a custom built Toyota turbocharged V8. While the Supra performed admirably in 1995, the MC8-R would appear superior for 1996. With development of high powered supercars for the GT classes at the time, Toyota decided that a car similar to the MC8-R, which was intended as a race car first, would be better suited to continuing Toyota's development of a GT car. Thus Toyota announced they would skip the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
to be able to develop their new GT car for 1998.
Turning to Toyota's European arm based in Cologne, Germany, Toyota Team Europe (TTE)and Dallara
were charged with development of the new GT car. With taking the one-year hiatus, TTE was able to look at what the competition was developing for the GT class, and exploit it to their benefit. In 1997, both the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
and the Porsche 911 GT1
were dominant cars in their class that exploited loop holes in the rules in place at the time. Each car was a custom built super car of which only a small handful of production cars were built to homologate it. TTE realized that they would actually only need to build a single production car in order to meet homologation regulations, thus allowing TTE to have a car that would never truly be sold to a customer, meaning that any driver luxuries could be left out.
Second, Toyota learned about a loophole which Mercedes-Benz
had exploited. All GT based cars were required to have storage space, capable of holding a standard sized suitcase, in order for the car to be considered not only production based, but usable by the public. Mercedes exploited this by putting a small cubby hole into an unused area underneath the rear bodywork, although it was not as easy to access as a normal trunk. Toyota, in their interpretation of the rules, were able to convince Automobile Club de l'Ouest
(ACO) officials that the car's fuel tank, normally empty when the car is scrutineered before the race, was allowable as a trunk space since it could, theoretically, hold a suitcase.
With these loopholes in place, TTE was able to set out in laying-out the GT-One. TTE designed and manufactured the car's carbon fiber
chassis and bodywork in-house, while Toyota supplied an upgraded version of the engine they originally used on their Group C cars, the R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8.
TTE also developed the only two GT-One road cars built, required in order for the race car to qualify as a road car-based Grand Tourer. They were painted red and fitted with a basic interior. One was put into a museum in Japan, the other is displayed at Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne, Germany.
.
For the race itself, the #28 GT-One suffered from a high speed accident halfway through the race, taking it out of competition. The two other entrants continued to fight on, both remaining in the top 10. However, within the closing hours, the higher ranked #29 GT-One suffered a gearbox failure while in competition for the race win. Thus Toyota was left to take 9th place in the race with the lone #27 entry, which ended the race 25 laps behind the winning Porsche 911 GT1
.
Following the success of the GT1 class as a whole over Le Mans prototype
s, the ACO and FIA
moved to change the regulations for the GT classes, requiring a large amount of production vehicles for the GT classes, thus eliminating the original loopholes in the system. Thus Toyota was forced to make changes to the GT-One, as were all its competitors in the class. Mercedes-Benz
opted to evolve their CLK-GTR
into the new custom built CLR
in the closed cockpit LM-GTP prototype class, while Nissan and Panoz
opted for open cockpit LMPs. Porsche
dropped out of competition altogether. Newcomer Audi decided to build cars for both the GTP and LMP classes, while BMW continued in the LMP class as before. Toyota decided to follow the route of Mercedes and evolve the GT-One into a GTP class prototype. Although the CLK-GTR required extensive modifications to become the CLR, the GT-One was already close enough to a prototype that extensive redesign was not needed.
Toyota began an extensive testing program, including a long distance test at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
in Belgium
soon after a snowfall. In the official testing session at Le Mans, the GT-Ones were again fast, taking the 1st, 3rd, and 5th fastest lap times. This pace continued in qualifying for the race, as the three GT-Ones took 1st, 2nd, and 8th positions.
Throughout the race the GT-Ones battled for the lead, having it switch multiple times amongst the top competitors. Unfortunately the GT-One was suffering from failures of its Michelin
tires throughout the race, mostly caused by sharp gravel which had been accidentally brought onto the racing surface by other cars. The design of the GT-One's wheel wells allowed for a blown tire to cause extensive damage to the mechanical linkages inside. Thus after only 90 laps the first GT-One was lost when it suffered an explosive tire puncture and was damaged beyond repair, unable to return to the pits and abandoned on the track. Halfway into the event, another GT-One was lost in a tire puncture that led to a high speed accident, destroying the car. This left the team with only car #3, which was still running at the top of the field. At this point a large amount of the competition had been eliminated, with all Mercedes out of the race due to their famous accident and withdrawal. Audi had also lost two of their four cars, and Nissan had lost their factory backed R391, although an older Courage
C52 campaigned by the team was still active. BMW and Panoz were the only teams continuing without major problems.
During the final hour of the race, the lone GT-One was chasing the remaining BMW for the lead, but while lapping traffic, it suffered a tire failure, and was forced to slowly make its way around the track to return to the pits for a new set. In the process the GT-One lost the chance to challenge for the lead, and thus lost the race. The lone GT-One would come home 2nd overall, one lap behind the winning BMW. As a consolation prize, the GT-One would win the GTP class, although it was the only car in the class to actually finish.
The GT-One would race only once more, a single entrant appearing in the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km
. Although the race mostly consisted of Japanese teams, thus leaving out most of the manufacturers that had competed at Le Mans, Toyota still had to compete against rival Nissan, who also entered their R391
. In the end the GT-One would fall short once again, finishing 2nd and only one lap behind the winning R391.
The GT-One program would not be continued into 2000, Toyota instead turning TTE into leaders of the new Toyota F1
team. This would mark the end of Toyota's attempts at Le Mans, which had started in 1985.
Formula One
cars during tobacco legislated grand prix) are seen, although these barcodes do not appear on the final race car. Other sponsors included Zent (Number 1 Car), Venture Safenet (Number 2 Car) and Esso
(Number 3 Car).
LM804 was not only the only car to race in both 24 Hours of Le Mans, but also the only car to finish either 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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Engine: Toyota R36V, 3.6 litre Twin-Turbo V8 (600 bhp @ 6000 rpm, 479 lbft @ 6000 RPM)
Gearbox: TTE six-speed unsynchronized sequential manual transmission
Suspension: Four-wheel independent, double wishbones front and rear
Dimensions: 484 cm overall length, 200 cm overall width, 900 kg (1,984 lb) weight
0-60 mph: 3.6 Seconds
0-100 mph: 5.9 Seconds
1/4 Mile Elapsed Time: 10.7 At 142 mi/h
Top Speed: 380 kilometre per hour
The Toyota GT-One topped the speed trap results during practice for Le Mans 1999 when the car of Martin Brundle
, Emmanuel Collard
, and Vincenzo Sospiri
was clocked at 351 km/h (217.6 mph). Its actual top speed (with low downforce, as it was set up for Le Mans 1999) is somewhere around 380 km/h (236.13 mph) . To date the Toyota GT-One remains one of the fastest petrol-fueled LMPs, setting the Le Mans best of 3:29 and rivaling the Audi R8 LMP900.
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
style rules, but later adapted into a Le Mans prototype
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
. It raced in the 1998
1998 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 6 and 7 1998.-Race:1998 saw a significant increase in manufacturer involvement. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz remained, with upgraded cars in both GT1 and LMP. Toyota sent three of their new, extremely fast...
and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
1999 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 67th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13, 1999.-Pre-race:1999 saw another increase in manufacturers involvement. Although Porsche did not send a team to contest, Toyota retained their three updated GT-Ones, now moved to the LMGTP class due...
.
History
Following the end of the Group CGroup C
Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs....
era around 1994, Toyota decided to alter its plans in sports car racing
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
by moving to the production-based GT classes for 1995. Toyota decided to approach this in two ways by using two different styles of car for competition. The first was a heavily modified Toyota Supra
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...
, referred to as the Supra LM, which would use a turbocharged inline-6. The second entry was a custom built car designed specifically to be a racing car, yet required a small number of production cars for sale in order to meet homologation regulations. This car was modified heavily from the Toyota MR2
Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Central Motors, a part of Toyota, from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan...
, and became known as the SARD
SARD
is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts.-History:...
MC8-R. The MC8-R would use a custom built Toyota turbocharged V8. While the Supra performed admirably in 1995, the MC8-R would appear superior for 1996. With development of high powered supercars for the GT classes at the time, Toyota decided that a car similar to the MC8-R, which was intended as a race car first, would be better suited to continuing Toyota's development of a GT car. Thus Toyota announced they would skip the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
1997 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and 15 1997.-Pre-race:The Dunlop chicane was modified slightly in order to slow speeds again but also accommodate larger gravel traps as runoff area for the protection of motorcycle riders using the Bugatti...
to be able to develop their new GT car for 1998.
Turning to Toyota's European arm based in Cologne, Germany, Toyota Team Europe (TTE)and Dallara
Dallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...
were charged with development of the new GT car. With taking the one-year hiatus, TTE was able to look at what the competition was developing for the GT class, and exploit it to their benefit. In 1997, both the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a sports car and race car that was built by Mercedes-AMG, performance and motorsports arm of Mercedes-Benz. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to...
and the Porsche 911 GT1
Porsche 911 GT1
The Porsche 911 GT1 was a car designed for competition in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street legal version for homologation purposes...
were dominant cars in their class that exploited loop holes in the rules in place at the time. Each car was a custom built super car of which only a small handful of production cars were built to homologate it. TTE realized that they would actually only need to build a single production car in order to meet homologation regulations, thus allowing TTE to have a car that would never truly be sold to a customer, meaning that any driver luxuries could be left out.
Second, Toyota learned about a loophole which Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
had exploited. All GT based cars were required to have storage space, capable of holding a standard sized suitcase, in order for the car to be considered not only production based, but usable by the public. Mercedes exploited this by putting a small cubby hole into an unused area underneath the rear bodywork, although it was not as easy to access as a normal trunk. Toyota, in their interpretation of the rules, were able to convince Automobile Club de l'Ouest
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...
(ACO) officials that the car's fuel tank, normally empty when the car is scrutineered before the race, was allowable as a trunk space since it could, theoretically, hold a suitcase.
With these loopholes in place, TTE was able to set out in laying-out the GT-One. TTE designed and manufactured the car's carbon fiber
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
chassis and bodywork in-house, while Toyota supplied an upgraded version of the engine they originally used on their Group C cars, the R36V 3.6 L Turbo V8.
TTE also developed the only two GT-One road cars built, required in order for the race car to qualify as a road car-based Grand Tourer. They were painted red and fitted with a basic interior. One was put into a museum in Japan, the other is displayed at Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne, Germany.
Racing results
Introduced in time for Le Mans in 1998, the GT-One first appeared at the official testing days for the race held in May. Three GT-Ones appeared, setting the 2nd, 5th, and 10th best times, easily beating out custom built prototypes which were meant to be the superior class. For the race week itself, all three cars performed admirably in qualifying by continuing their quick pace, qualifying 2nd, 7th, and 8th, being beaten only by their GT class competitor, Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
.
For the race itself, the #28 GT-One suffered from a high speed accident halfway through the race, taking it out of competition. The two other entrants continued to fight on, both remaining in the top 10. However, within the closing hours, the higher ranked #29 GT-One suffered a gearbox failure while in competition for the race win. Thus Toyota was left to take 9th place in the race with the lone #27 entry, which ended the race 25 laps behind the winning Porsche 911 GT1
Porsche 911 GT1
The Porsche 911 GT1 was a car designed for competition in the GT1 class of sportscar racing, which also required a street legal version for homologation purposes...
.
Following the success of the GT1 class as a whole over Le Mans prototype
Le Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
s, the ACO and FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
moved to change the regulations for the GT classes, requiring a large amount of production vehicles for the GT classes, thus eliminating the original loopholes in the system. Thus Toyota was forced to make changes to the GT-One, as were all its competitors in the class. Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
opted to evolve their CLK-GTR
Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a sports car and race car that was built by Mercedes-AMG, performance and motorsports arm of Mercedes-Benz. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primarily as a race car, with the road cars necessary in order to...
into the new custom built CLR
Mercedes-Benz CLR
The Mercedes-Benz CLR was a Le Mans Prototype built by Mercedes-Benz for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. It became infamous for spectacular crashes during its only competitive outing.-Racing history:...
in the closed cockpit LM-GTP prototype class, while Nissan and Panoz
Panoz
Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz. The company is located in Braselton, GA. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, and the Panoz Esperante...
opted for open cockpit LMPs. Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
dropped out of competition altogether. Newcomer Audi decided to build cars for both the GTP and LMP classes, while BMW continued in the LMP class as before. Toyota decided to follow the route of Mercedes and evolve the GT-One into a GTP class prototype. Although the CLK-GTR required extensive modifications to become the CLR, the GT-One was already close enough to a prototype that extensive redesign was not needed.
Toyota began an extensive testing program, including a long distance test at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event, 25 Hours of Spa, run by the Uniroyal Fun Cup. It is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
soon after a snowfall. In the official testing session at Le Mans, the GT-Ones were again fast, taking the 1st, 3rd, and 5th fastest lap times. This pace continued in qualifying for the race, as the three GT-Ones took 1st, 2nd, and 8th positions.
Throughout the race the GT-Ones battled for the lead, having it switch multiple times amongst the top competitors. Unfortunately the GT-One was suffering from failures of its Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tires throughout the race, mostly caused by sharp gravel which had been accidentally brought onto the racing surface by other cars. The design of the GT-One's wheel wells allowed for a blown tire to cause extensive damage to the mechanical linkages inside. Thus after only 90 laps the first GT-One was lost when it suffered an explosive tire puncture and was damaged beyond repair, unable to return to the pits and abandoned on the track. Halfway into the event, another GT-One was lost in a tire puncture that led to a high speed accident, destroying the car. This left the team with only car #3, which was still running at the top of the field. At this point a large amount of the competition had been eliminated, with all Mercedes out of the race due to their famous accident and withdrawal. Audi had also lost two of their four cars, and Nissan had lost their factory backed R391, although an older Courage
Courage Compétition
Courage Compétition was a racing team and chassis constructor company now owned by Oreca, based in Le Mans, France near the Circuit de la Sarthe. It was founded by Yves Courage, a French race driver who ran hillclimbs before founding the company...
C52 campaigned by the team was still active. BMW and Panoz were the only teams continuing without major problems.
During the final hour of the race, the lone GT-One was chasing the remaining BMW for the lead, but while lapping traffic, it suffered a tire failure, and was forced to slowly make its way around the track to return to the pits for a new set. In the process the GT-One lost the chance to challenge for the lead, and thus lost the race. The lone GT-One would come home 2nd overall, one lap behind the winning BMW. As a consolation prize, the GT-One would win the GTP class, although it was the only car in the class to actually finish.
The GT-One would race only once more, a single entrant appearing in the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km
1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km
The 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km was an endurance race backed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , who ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Japan Automobile Federation , who ran the JGTC race series...
. Although the race mostly consisted of Japanese teams, thus leaving out most of the manufacturers that had competed at Le Mans, Toyota still had to compete against rival Nissan, who also entered their R391
Nissan R391
The Nissan R391 was a prototype racing car built by Nissan and their motorsports counterpart Nismo for competition at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans...
. In the end the GT-One would fall short once again, finishing 2nd and only one lap behind the winning R391.
The GT-One program would not be continued into 2000, Toyota instead turning TTE into leaders of the new Toyota F1
Toyota F1
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to participate in F1 in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002...
team. This would mark the end of Toyota's attempts at Le Mans, which had started in 1985.
Sponsorship
Marlboro was the Toyota GT-One sponsor in 1999 (hence the white chevron with red body livery) although there was an anti-tobacco law in France which meant no Marlboro logos appeared on the car anywhere. In pictures of practice sessions, Marlboro barcodes across the front of the car (which also appeared on the FerrariFerrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
cars during tobacco legislated grand prix) are seen, although these barcodes do not appear on the final race car. Other sponsors included Zent (Number 1 Car), Venture Safenet (Number 2 Car) and Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
(Number 3 Car).
Chassis
A total of seven GT-Ones were built in total over the two years of the program. The first six were built in 1998, while the final chassis was built in 1999.- LM801 - Developmental prototype, never raced.
- LM802 - 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans #29, later a test car.
- LM803 - Road legal version of the GT-One, on display in Europe.
- LM804 - 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans #28, 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans #3, later on display in Japan.
- LM805 - 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans #27, later a test car.
- LM806 - 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans #2. (Destroy)
- LM907 - 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans #1.
LM804 was not only the only car to race in both 24 Hours of Le Mans, but also the only car to finish either 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Road car technical data
Gearbox: TTE six-speed unsynchronized sequential manual transmission
Sequential manual transmission
A sequential manual transmission is a type of manual transmission used on motorcycles and high-performance cars for auto racing, where gears are selected in order, and direct access to specific gears is not possible....
Suspension: Four-wheel independent, double wishbones front and rear
Dimensions: 484 cm overall length, 200 cm overall width, 900 kg (1,984 lb) weight
0-60 mph: 3.6 Seconds
0-100 mph: 5.9 Seconds
1/4 Mile Elapsed Time: 10.7 At 142 mi/h
Top Speed: 380 kilometre per hour
The Toyota GT-One topped the speed trap results during practice for Le Mans 1999 when the car of Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....
, Emmanuel Collard
Emmanuel Collard
Emmanuel Collard is a French racing driver. He is a member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but drives also for other marques....
, and Vincenzo Sospiri
Vincenzo Sospiri
- Early career :Sospiri started racing in the Italian 100CC Karting Championships at the age of 15. He spent a long time working his way through the karting ladder, eventually becoming World Karting Champion in 1987. Sospiri then progressed to Formula Ford, before working through to Formula 3000 in...
was clocked at 351 km/h (217.6 mph). Its actual top speed (with low downforce, as it was set up for Le Mans 1999) is somewhere around 380 km/h (236.13 mph) . To date the Toyota GT-One remains one of the fastest petrol-fueled LMPs, setting the Le Mans best of 3:29 and rivaling the Audi R8 LMP900.