Toyota is eyeing a return to the world's most famous endurance race, the French 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a hybrid race car: a first in the race's 84-year history. "We want to enter when we are confident of victory," said to Kazuo Okamoto, who heads up the company's research and development department. Such an attitude certainly fits in with the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" approach, as racing has been proven to test and improve technology that will trickle down to street cars customers can buy, not to mention boosting Toyota's "green" image.
The Japanese auto giant has not announced when it will return to Le Mans, with Okamoto saying only that Toyota's hybrid racing efforts may resume in 2009, as per Automotive News Europe. Participating in the race next year would mark Toyota's 10-year absence from Le Mans, where it finished second in 1999 before moving on to focus on Formula One. ___________ Used Car Donation Car and Autos Zone