The Toyota GT-One (model code TS020 ) is a racing car initially developed for Group GT1 rules, but later adapted into an LMGTP car. It raced in the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans .
41-629: The Mercedes-Benz CLK LM (chassis code C298) was a Group GT1 sports car designed and built by Mercedes-Benz in partnership with AMG to compete in the FIA GT Championship . To satisfy the requirements of competing in the FIA GT Championship, a road-legal version had to be built to homologate the car. That car was known as the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM Straßenversion, and Mercedes-Benz assembled two chassis, one of which
82-657: A GTP class prototype. Although the CLK-LM required extensive modifications to become the CLR, the GT-One was already close enough to a prototype that an 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
123-581: A heavily upgraded version of the engine they originally used on their Group C cars, the twin-turbocharged 3.6 L (220 cu in) R36V 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, and the other is displayed at Toyota Motorsport GmbH headquarters in Cologne. Introduced in time for
164-432: A loophole which Mercedes-Benz had exploited. All GT-class cars were required to have storage space capable of holding a standard-size 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
205-579: A new GT car for 1998. (A MC8-R was entered for the 1997 race, but failed to qualify.) Turning to Toyota's European arm based in Cologne, Germany , Toyota Team Europe (TTE) and Dallara were tasked with development of the new GT car. With the one-year hiatus, TTE was able to observe what the competition was developing for the GT class, and exploit it to their benefit. In 1997, both the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and
246-566: A result of an LMP class restructuring in 2006. Marlboro was the Toyota GT-One sponsor in 1999 (hence the white chevron with red body livery), though an anti-tobacco law in France meant that no Marlboro logos appeared anywhere on the car. In pictures of practice sessions, Marlboro barcodes across the front of the car (which also appeared on Ferrari Formula One cars during tobacco legislated races) were seen, although these barcodes did not appear on
287-543: A tubular steel rollcage , the installation of a plastic front bumper similar to the one found on the CLK GTR Straßenversion, and a rear aerofoil that had a low- and high- downforce configuration. The road car's rear wing was also modified from the lightweight bare-bones racing wing to a wide, swooping rear wing akin to the one found on the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Straßenversion . The car
328-599: The Champs-Élysées in Paris as part of the "Dream Paris Stars" exhibition, alongside other rare Mercedes vehicles. The car would also make an appearance at the 2015 Chantilly Arts and Elegance Richard Mille , which Mercedes-Benz was sponsoring. In 2016, the car was put up for sale through the Mercedes-Benz Museum 's trading arm, All Time Stars, where it sold for €2 million. * Despite retiring, they had completed over 75% of
369-603: The DTM and ITC forced Mercedes to turn their attention to the newly introduced Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype class, where homologation was not an issue. Japanese Internet service provider MTCI planned on campaigning the CLK LM in the Japanese Grand Touring Car Championship , however, negotiations to purchase the CLK LM fell through, with MCTI eventually fielding a custom Porsche Boxster . The LM's successor,
410-581: The FIA GT Championship , piqued the interest of Mercedes who instructed AMG to construct a car to the Group GT1 regulations. To speed up the development process, AMG purchased McLaren F1 GTR chassis #11R from French privateers Larbre Compétition , which was then fitted with AMG's own bodywork along with substituting the F1 GTR's S70/2 engine for Mercedes' own, the LS600 . This accelerated development process meant that
451-529: The Mercedes-Benz CLR , inherited many features from the CLK LM; the V8 was enlarged to 5.7 L (347.8 cu in), rechristened the GT 108C, and the roofline was lowered by 10 mm (0.4 in), among other changes. The CLR, despite being a purpose-built Le Mans racecar, turned out to be beset by severe aerodynamic flaws that resulted in its infamous somersaults at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans . Following
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#1732868899031492-505: The Porsche 911 GT1 were dominant cars in their class that exploited loopholes in the rules. Each car was a custom-built supercar, and only a handful of production cars were built to homologate them. TTE realized that they would actually only need to build a single production car in order to meet homologation requirements; since the resulting car would never be sold to a customer, typical driver luxuries could be left out. Toyota also learned about
533-503: The Sauber C9 and Mercedes-Benz C11 , dubbed the GT 108B. The engine featured a revised crankshaft , with the GT 108B replacing the previous crossplane crank of the V12 with a flat-plane crank . Changes to the bodywork included removing the two front brake cooling ducts, the removal of the front fender gills, alterations to the roof scoop, and a lower roofline and nose. The CLK GTR would race
574-541: The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GT-One first appeared during the official testing period for the race held in May. Three GT-Ones appeared, setting the 2nd, 5th, and 10th best times and easily beating out dedicated Le Mans Prototypes (LMPs), 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, and being beaten only by GT class competitor Mercedes-Benz . During
615-458: 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 with BMW and Mercedes. Unfortunately, the GT-One was hampered by higher fuel consumption (1 or 2 laps less per stint than BMW) and by failures of its Michelin tires throughout the race, mostly caused by sharp gravel which had been accidentally brought onto
656-567: The CLK GTR was ready for competition just 128 days after work on the design had begun. The CLK GTR debuted at Mercedes' home track, the Hockenheimring , where Bernd Schneider qualified on pole. However, he later retired with brake problems, and the sister car finished 27th. Despite the setback, the CLK GTR would prove to be successful in the 1997 FIA GT Championship , winning six out of eleven races,
697-551: The class. Mercedes-Benz opted to evolve their CLK LM into the CLR in the closed cockpit LMGTP 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
738-504: The constructor's and the driver's championship by a large margin. Following the success of the CLK GTR, Mercedes-Benz modified the CLK GTR to suit the long straights of the Circuit de la Sarthe , constructing a new chassis with revised bodywork. AMG also had doubts over the reliability of the V12 engine of the CLK GTR, opting to replace it with a non-turbocharged version of the M119 engine found in
779-586: The end of Toyota's attempts at Le Mans, which had started in 1985, until its return in 2012 with the TS030 Hybrid closed-cockpit LMP1 prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship . With Mercedes-Benz pulling out and Audi discontinuing their LMGTP competitor, the Audi R8C , no LMGTP entrants appeared in the next year's race; only Bentley continued to compete in the class until it was abolished as
820-511: The end of the Group C era around 1994, Toyota decided to alter its plans in sports car racing by moving to the production-based grand touring (GT) classes for 1995. Toyota decided to use a two-pronged approach with two different competition car models. The first was a heavily modified Toyota Supra , referred to as the Supra LM, which would use a turbocharged Toyota 503E inline-4. The second entry
861-520: The end, the GT-One would fall short once again, finishing 2nd and only one lap behind the winning R391. However, Toyota won the LMGTP class (the R391 being an LMP), which would have granted them automatic entry to 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans had they continued the GT-One program. The GT-One program would not be continued into 2000, Toyota instead turning TTE into the leaders of the new Toyota F1 team. This would mark
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#1732868899031902-454: The final race car. The logos were also absent during the Fuji 1000 km race, which was held in Japan, a country with no tobacco sponsorship restrictions at the time. Other sponsors included Zent (#1), Venture Safenet (#2) and Esso (#3 and Fuji 1000 km). A total of seven GT-Ones were built over the two years of the program. The first six were built in 1998, while the final chassis
943-478: The first two rounds of the 1998 FIA GT Championship , where it won the championship's first two races at Silverstone and Oschersleben before being replaced by the CLK LM. At the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans , Bernd Schneider qualified the No. 35 CLK LM on pole in the third of four qualifying sessions, setting a time of 3:35.544, just over a second ahead of the works Toyota GT-One . The sister No. 36 CLK LM would round out
984-417: The incidents, Mercedes withdrew from all sportscar activities in 1999 and never entered Le Mans again. The CLK LM Straßenversion or Strassenversion (German for "Street version") is the road-legal homologated version of the CLK LM. Mercedes manufactured two chassis, No. 001 and No. 002, the former of which was destroyed for crash testing purposes. Modifications for road use included the installation of
1025-506: The newly introduced LMGTP class for the 1999 season, which produced the Mercedes-Benz CLR . Mercedes was left without a series to race in after the 1996 International Touring Car Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft folded in 1996, with their competitors Opel and Alfa Romeo pulling out of the series, leaving Mercedes as the sole entrant. The elevation of the BPR Global GT Series to an FIA -sanctioned event,
1066-497: The race 25 laps behind the winning Porsche 911 GT1 . Following the success of the GT1 class as a whole over the LMP class, the ACO and FIA moved to change the regulations for the GT classes, requiring a large amount of production vehicles for the GT classes and eliminating the original loopholes in the system. Toyota were thus forced to make changes to the GT-One, as were all their competitors in
1107-548: The race car's characteristics such as the large rear wing, with the interior being very spartan; it lacked furnishings such as upholstery or a second seat. The rising costs and Mercedes ' use of homologation specials caused Porsche and McLaren to withdraw from the 1999 FIA GT Championship , and seeing as Mercedes was the only entrant, the FIA opted to run the 1999 season without the GT1 class. The repetition of what happened in 1996 with
1148-515: The race distance, and were thus classified. Bold – Pole position Italics – Fastest lap Group GT1 Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 463014841 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:28:19 GMT Toyota GT-One Following
1189-401: 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 race, both remaining in the top 10. However, within the closing hours, the higher-ranked #29 GT-One suffered a gearbox failure in competition for the win, leaving Toyota to take 9th place in the race with the remaining #27 entry, which ended
1230-481: 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; after only 90 laps, the #1 GT-One driven by Martin Brundle was lost when it suffered an explosive tire puncture and was damaged beyond repair, unable to return to the pits and being abandoned on the track. Halfway into the event, the #2 GT-One driven by Thierry Boutsen
1271-522: The rear uses a custom racing structure). While the Supra performed admirably in 1995, the MC8-R would appear superior in 1996. With its development of high-powered GT race cars, Toyota decided that a car similar to the MC8-R, designed as a race car first and foremost, would be better suited to continue Toyota's GT racing efforts. Thus, Toyota announced they would skip the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans to be able to develop
Mercedes-Benz CLK LM - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-429: 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, qualified as trunk space since it could theoretically hold a suitcase. With these loopholes in place, TTE was able to set out in developing the GT-One. TTE designed and manufactured the car's carbon fibre chassis and bodywork in-house, while Toyota supplied
1353-462: 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 driven by Ukyo Katayama was chasing the remaining BMW for the lead, but suffered a tire failure while lapping traffic. Having lost the chance to challenge for the lead, it was forced to slowly continue along the track to return to the pits for a new set. The lone GT-One would finish 2nd overall, one lap behind
1394-399: The top three. The engine ultimately proved to be Mercedes' Achilles' heel , with both cars retiring before the halfway mark. Problems with the power steering oil pump caused the CLK LM's entire lubrication system to fail, with Schneider pulling over on the pit straight on the 19th lap, and Gounon pitting a few laps later with the same problem. In spite of the disappointing results, Mercedes
1435-438: 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 once more, a single entrant appearing in the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km . 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 entered an R391. In
1476-551: Was a purpose-built racing car, with a small number of production cars built to meet homologation regulations. Powered by a turbocharged Toyota 1UZ V8, this car was modified heavily from the Toyota MR2 , and became known as the SARD MC8-R . The overall design of the Porsche 911 GT1 was also imitated by the MC8R (wherein the front chassis parts are modified from the original road car, and
1517-494: Was destroyed for crash testing purposes. The termination of the FIA GT Championship meant that the requirement for 25 road-legal chassis to be produced was no longer in effect, leaving the sole road-legal version produced prior to the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans the only one in existence. Later on, the spare test car (chassis No. 005) was converted for road-legal use in the United Kingdom. The road-legal conversion retained much of
1558-426: Was destroyed for crash-testing. The CLK LM went on to win every single championship event in the 1998 FIA GT season , retiring only at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans , which was a non-championship event. The removal of the GT1 class from the FIA GT Championship due to the lack of entrants and rising costs meant that Mercedes' GT1 program was brought to a close at the end of 1998. Mercedes instead focussed their efforts on
1599-504: Was lost in another tire puncture that led to a high-speed accident, destroying the car and ending Boutsen's racing career. 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 cars 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
1640-493: Was pleased with the pace of the CLK LM, fielding the car for the rest of the 1998 FIA GT Championship . The two cars shared pole position between them throughout the season, and won every single race, posting six 1–2 finishes. Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta captured the drivers title at the conclusion of the 1998 season, along with Mercedes-AMG collecting the constructors. Five chassis were constructed in total, with three racing chassis, and two road-legal chassis, one of which
1681-475: Was presented at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside the CLK LM racecars, after which it was sold to a Japanese collector. The sole chassis has since made sparse appearances, resurfacing at the 2014 Rétromobile alongside two Mercedes-Benz 300 SL on display by French auction house Classic Sport Leicht, where it was purchased by a European owner. In 2014 it was put on display in the Mercedes-Benz showroom on