The Week in Cars #4

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2018's new Le Mans Prototype contenders arrive and manufacturers announce hybrid next generation performance cars.

The WEC is my favourite racing series. My special favourite is the 24hrs of Le Mans, due to the last-minute rivalries and overtakes, reliability troubles, madly brave drivers, the spaceships in the LMP1 and LMP2 classes, and the fact that it stays exciting through the whole 24(!) hours.


Well, the LMP1 racers have just dropped, and it turns out that, although Audi ended an 18-year career as the most successful team ever and Porsche turned its back on two consecutive wins to both enter the electric Formula E series, the tragic tale of Toyota leading LM two years ago and breaking down on the final lap will live on. Toyota is sticking in the game for yet another year.


Toyota's contender is once again called the TSO50, and is once again powered by a 2.4l twin-turbocharged V6, with the obligatory flywheel, battery or supercapacitor boost, with Toyota opting for batteries. Everyone thought that the Toyota TSO50 would have Le Mans 2018 to itself. They were wrong.


"Everyone thought that Toyota would have Le Mans 2018 to itself. They were wrong."




TVR, after a recent resurrection by a man called Les Edgar, with the help of Gordon Murray Design, has just unveiled the Rebellion Racing LMP1 car. Rebellion Racing is already an established endurance racing firm, and the chassis is from a third-party company called Oreca, also a well-known (all relative, of course) chassis provider among endurance racers. That means a 2.0 4-pot and batteries, but also proven reliability, which could swing things into TVR's favour.

Back on actual roads, Ford and Mercedes-AMG have both announced that their respective Focus RS and C63S models will be hybrids, with AMG opting for a full hybridisation and a smaller V6 and Ford for a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. No word on power for the C63S, but expect over 400bhp in the Focus from their 2.3l turbo 4-pot, coincidentally what AMG is aiming for with their 2.0l 4-cylinder engine without hybridisation. What's next, a 750bhp Fiesta?!

Next week, we'll be back at 2.30 on Sunday with TWiC's fifth edition and the latest automotive news, including the brand-new Ford Focus, and the obligatory RS renders.

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