Searching for a successful Formula

For the past three years, Toyota motorsports engineers have been hard at work developing a Formula One car for the 2002 season, which begins in March.

“It has been a long-time dream for Toyota to come to Formula One racing,” according to former President Hiroshi Okuda of Toyota Motor Corp., when revealing his company's intention to participate in Grand Prix racing in January 1999. Since then, the company has concentrated on researching, developing, designing, and building its first Formula One test-bed car at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Germany. TMG was founded by former rally driver Ove Andersson for the World Rally Championship activities of Toyota, with Toyota Team Europe (TTE) having acquired seven championship titles. The swede remains TMG's president. Toyota has invested DM250 million to renovate the TMG facility for Formula One development. The former base of its Le Mans sports car project and victorious World Rally team has been enlarged from 18,000 to 30,000 m² (195,000 to 320,000 ft²), additions including a 50% scale wind tunnel with moving belt, Formula One workshop, and chassis design office. Though few wind-tunnel details have been announced, most of 2001 was spent on initial calibrations, so its first significant use will be for development of the 2003 car. The Formula One workshop has five bays /work spaces. Engine exhaust is collected by tubes under the floor for diversion outside the facility. The chassis and engine design offices are equipped with Dassault Systemes' CATIA software, with drawing boards being eliminated. CAD data are sent to manufacturing departments such as CNC and composites to make fabrication as precise as possible. Floor space is divided 60:40 for chassis and engine. During renovations, the engine department received state-of-theart computer-controlled dynamometers that can simulate running conditions on any racetrack or virtual racetrack. The facility has a total of eight dynos, some rebuilt and some new.

Exhaust gases from the engine test benches and Formula One workshop are guided to a catalyst for cleansing before being vented into the air. TMG also has a center to recycle its materials as much as possible-not only to meet local-government requirements but also because Toyota believes, as large-scale car manufacturer, it has a big social responsibility. It is said to be the first Formula One effort to have such a highly “green” facility.