This Prius looks like a real racing machine. The competition-spec Toyota has a larger front splitter, canards on the corners of the nose and a high rear wing. It now rides on 10-spoke wheels, with slotted brake discs visible behind them. The ride height also appears to be much lower than standard.
Toyota isn't giving any details about the Prius race car's powertrain. According to Car Watch Impress, the revised engine runs on carbon-neutral fuel and produces more power than the road car. There's also said to be a larger battery for the hybrid system and changes to the cooling system.
The Prius race car finished 11th place overall out of 63 starters and 6th in class in the Thai endurance event, 21 laps behind the winning vehicle. There's no information available yet on whether Toyota intends to take this machine into competition again, or if this event was a one-off test.
This Prius will be one of several Toyota race cars on display at next year's Tokyo Auto Salon, which takes place from 13 to 15 January. The brand's machines from the World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, Super GT and other series will also be there.
Toyota previously raced the Prius in Japan's Super GT series for several years, but these cars bore only limited resemblance to the road-going version. The various iterations used 3.4-litre and 5.4-litre V8 engines and had different hybrid systems, including one with a supercapacitor.
Source: Car Watch Impress