Toyota Motorsport GmbH
Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG ) is a Cologne-based department of the Japanese automaker Toyota, which specializes in motorsports and traded until 1993 under the name of Toyota Team Europe ( TTE). From 1972, the 300 -member department was responsible for the development and production of the works cars for World Rally Championship. 1999 Toyota stopped its activities in rallying after four drivers and three brand world champion titles and moved into Formula 1, where the team between 2002 and 2009 took part with racing cars and engines of our own construction.
- 2.1 Special models
- 2.2 engine tuning for production cars
History
The 1979 Cologne-based Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG ) is a 100 % owned subsidiary of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. At that time when Toyota Team Europe ( TTE) announced the company was responsible for the development and production of the works cars for World Rally Championship. 1993 Toyota Motorsport GmbH Toyota Team Europe.
Currently, about 200 people are employed on a 30,000 m² premises and offer since November 2009, the motorsport and automotive industries in developing and testing services in the high power range.
In the 1970s and 1990s, Toyota won three manufacturers and four drivers' world championship in the World Rally Championship ( WRC). Overall, Toyota won 43 WRC rallies and scored with riders like Carlos Sainz, Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen 137 times finishes among the first three. In 1999, the company withdrew from the rally, to prepare for the Formula 1.
From 1994 TMG operation in addition a factory tuning department for road vehicles offered not only sporty accessories for standard vehicles, but also sporting complete vehicles.
TMG 1997 was the world's first ISO 9001 certified motor sports company.
1998 and 1999, TMG entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the specially designed Toyota GT -One. Although the Toyota GT1 cars were very fast, they had the good fortune not hold. 1999 Toyota Although secured pole position with the first vehicle, but the victory was thwarted by a flat tire. The third GT -One went in the same race in second place.
From 2002 to 2009 TMG drove as Panasonic Toyota Racing team in Formula 1 with. As one of only two teams designed and built there the entire vehicle in Cologne. Toyota took a total of 139 Grands Prix in part, drove 13 times in the top three (the first time in 2005 ), started from the pole position three times and scored in their entire Formula 1 time in total 278.5 points with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher.
On November 4, 2009 Toyota announced the withdrawal from Formula 1
The company in Cologne persists, now with a new business model. Customers in the motorsports and automotive industry, but also from other industries can take engineering services and test and production services.
Rally History
The first contact, and thus the foundation of TTE was laid in 1972 in London when Toyota representatives approached the racing driver Ove Andersson, who in 1971 won the Monte Carlo Rally in order to drive the British RAC Rally in the autumn of the same year Toyota Celica. Andersson accepted and was already in the first race proved against some Japanese top teams, the Datsun 240Z drove the predominantly. He finished ninth.
Ove Andersson founded 1973 " Andersson Motorsport " in Uppsala, Sweden from the fact out that the cars had to be transported from Japan to the European races again and this caused damage to the vehicle. From Andersson Motorsport later the first European Toyota team was formed. Andersson Motorsport was a short time later moved to Brussels, Belgium. From here, the team traveled, with the support of the Japanese company, Toyota Corollas and Celicas successful in rallies.
In February 1975, Toyota launched for the first time when Toyota Team Europe. Just 6 months later - in August 1975 - Hannu Mikkola won in a Corolla 1600 for the first rally of the 1000 Lakes Rally in TTE.
1979 pulled the Toyota Team Europe 11 of 20 employees of Brussels in the Toyota -Allee to Cologne. In the same year they put first time the Celica Turbo and won the next two Safari rallies.
In September 1987, the team moved to turn, this time to larger premises, but they remained in the Toyota -Allee, where they still reside today. At that time revealed Toyota Celica GT4 that, their first four-wheel drive car that Juha Kankkunen and Kenneth Eriksson drove. Carlos Sainz won in 1990 with the ST 165 the drivers' title in the FIA World Rally Championship. The newer GT4, ST 185, made his debut in the 1992 Monte Carlo Rally and helped Sainz in the same year again for the drivers' title. The ST 185 won in the following years the WRC driver's and manufacturer's titles: 1993 with Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol in 1994.
1993 bought the Toyota Motor Corporation ( TMC) TTE and was renamed Toyota Motorsport GmbH to. The team took on the name TTE part in rallies. At the time employed TMG, as a 100% subsidiary of TMC, approximately 300 people from 17 countries.
1995 TTE was excluded for 12 months from the WRC because of an illegal air restrictor on the ST205, which included both a bypass mechanism and a spring force component to hide him from the Scrutineers.
Because of the exclusion TTE could not even participate as a team and supported, therefore, in the years 1996 and 1997, several other teams, like the Italian HF Grifone team, Toyota Team Sweden, Marlboro Toyota Team Belgium and complexion sport, with the Celica ST205 WRC selected events attended before the Corolla WRC was presented at the Finland Rally 1997.
1998 TTE was back in the WRC and it came with two crews Carlos Sainz / Luis Moya and Didier Auriol / Denis Giraudet with the Corolla WRC. They drove to second place in the Drivers ' and Manufacturers' Championship. In 1999 they got the 3rd time the manufacturers' title in the WRC.
Rally victories table
Le Mans history
In addition to the tip lead in the World Rally Championship has developed the core team in Cologne, the Toyota GT -One Le Mans. The GT -One occurred in 1998 and 1999 at the 24 -hour race in Le Mans. Within these two years was Toyota's best result of second place finish in 1999. Due to a flat tire in the last hour of the race, the victory did not succeed.
2011 Toyota supplied the Swiss team Rebellion Racing sports cars with engines. In October 2011, TMG announced the resumption of its sportscar program for the 2012 season. Planned to start in some races of the new FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 - hour race at Le Mans. The LMP1 prototype to be constructed at TMG in Cologne. The drive is to be used in Japan, a developed hybrid gasoline engine. A few days later, TMG announced the collaboration with the ORECA team to Hugues de Chaunac.
Developments in production vehicles
Special models
In addition to its motor sport activities examined and developed TMG on behalf of Toyota even vehicle productions and offered to highly qualified and responsive engineering services. From Cologne works as diverse modified Toyota - road models came on the market.
- MR2 W3 Edition S
Engine tuning for production cars
In 2003, TTE at the Essen Motor Show a turbo kit developed for the Toyota MR2 Roadster W3 for retrofitting before, helped the car to 44 hp and 80 Nm more power. When installed by TTE in Frechen near Cologne was retained the full factory warranty for the vehicle.