In 2014, Porsche made its return to the top tier of endurance racing with the 919 Hybrid and Audi drivers Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer were first to cross the line at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the R18 e-tron quattro, but Toyota dominated the World Endurance Championship (WEC). With the TS040 Hybrid, successor to the TS030 Hybrid which debuted in 2012, the Japanese constructor became the 2014 FIA WEC world champion manufacturer while drivers Sébastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson took the drivers’ world title.

Gamers playing Forza Motorsport 6 on Xbox One can now get behind the wheel of the Toyota and get a feel for its 3.7-litre V8 engine delivering more than 1,000 hp. The Toyota TS040 is included in the latest car pack available for download this month (the Polo Red Car Pack available for €6.99/£5.59/$6.99 on Xbox Live), with other cars including a superb Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R, an exotic Holden HQ Monaro GTS 350 and a racy 1979 Opel Kadett C GT/E. Endurance fans will no doubt prefer the Toyota LMP1 which they’ll be able to put to the test around Le Mans’ famous Circuit de la Sarthe.

Between its first outing at Silverstone in April 2014 and the Bahrain round at the end of the 2015 season, the TS040 HYBRID won five races, including three 1-2 finishes. It put Toyota on the podium fourteen times and gave it four pole positions, including one in Le Mans in 2014. The TS040 Hybrid definitely dominated the second half of the 2014 season but experienced more mixed fortunes against Audi and Porsche in 2015.

Geoffroy Barre | Translated from French by Clair Pickworth


Photo: The TS040 joins the long list of endurance racers available in Forza Motorsport 6 on the Xbox One games console.