Toyota's 1000hp Hybrid Le Mans Racer Will Make You Geek Out

Prius haters the world over need to get a load of this thing: a hybrid Toyota that's actually cool. Unveiled today at France's Paul Ricard circuit, the TS040 Hybrid will take on Porsche and Audi in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), which includes the obligatory stop at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

New WEC rules for 2014 mean that teams must use 25 per cent less fuel than in 2013, so this car is chock full of clever hybrid technology.

A mid-mounted 513bhp, 3.7-litre V8 is backed up by two electric motors - one on each axle - that can deliver a 473bhp boost to all four-wheels. The total combined output is a cool 986bhp (1000hp). And those aren't any ordinary motors; they're motor generators, which apply braking force along with the car's conventional disc and calliper stoppers, generating energy as they work.

That energy is then stored in a super-capacitor and sent back to the motor-generators, which switch from the braking/generating mode to provide forward motion in the form of a 473bhp boost. Don't act like you're not impressed.

Toyota says that 'the WEC will increase the possibilities for the transfer of Toyota’s race-bred technical know-how to its production cars.' As well as the inevitable improvements to the likes of the Prius, hopefully this will increase the opportunity for performance hybrids from the brand in the future.

The TS040 will make its race debut at the Six Hours of Silverstone on April 20. The number 7 car will be shared by Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima, while the number 8 machine will be driven by Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi.