Toyota Endurance Team: GT-One & TS050 Hybrid

It’s time for a history lesson and a celebration of Toyota’s greatest engineering accomplishments. The Japanese brand may have the most heartbreaking love/hate story with endurance racing, but this mechanical fairy tale has a happy ending.

Toyota GT-One/TS020 (1998-1999)

Despite having the most advanced prototypes and a solid experience in endurance racing, it seemed that a curse had been put on Toyota for decades. The GT-One (or TS020) was no exception. Three prototypes were entered in the 1998 and 1999 editions of a famous endurance classic, but most of them crashed or retired. Only one reached the finish line in second position.

However, the Toyota GT-One is regarded as one of the most wonderful sports cars of the 90s and captured the imagination of many racing fans thanks to its sleek curves and the flashy paint scheme.

It was a time when the only hybrids on the track were the drivers themselves, half-humans half-gods.

This Lego model is faithful to the unmistakable design of the TS020 bodywork, including the black sidepods, the white nose and the giant rear wing. It comes with a driver who can fit inside the cockpit.

Toyota TS050 Hybrid (2016-2018)

It took Toyota 20 more years of frustration and trying to clinch the victory in the most famous endurance race of all. In that span, the prototypes came a long way to become hi-tech computers on wheels, with hybrid engines and a complicated design. The TS050 Hybrid may be the exact opposite of its legendary ancestor, but it proved to be successful.

This Lego model imitates the refined aerodynamics of the TS050 Hybrid, including the rear diffuser, the dorsal fin and the red mirrors. It comes with the winning Japanese driver, a trophy, a podium and a TV crew.

Both cars approximately share the same wheelbase as the existing Speed Champion models, but they are two-stud wider.

There are no stickers! I don’t like them and I find it more rewarding to reach a pure design solution to get the shapes and colors right. Also, all parts were bought from the Lego website. As a consequence, some compromises have been made to get as close as possible to the real-life paint schemes.

A driver with helmet can fit inside. These cars are made to be played with, not just sit on a shelf!