Toyota heading back to Le Mans in a hybrid

Can a hybrid win the 24 hour race in 2010?

Toyota stopped racing in the Le Mans 24 hour race back in 1999, but the success of Audi's diesel vehicles the last couple of years has inspired Toyota. "Audi demonstrated the excellence of new generation diesel-powered cars through the Le Mans race. We want to do the same with our hybrid model," a Toyota official said according to the Daily Yomiuri.

Ultimately, Toyota is hoping that hybrid success at Le Mans could help build interest in hybrid vehicles in Europe.

On an interesting side note, Toyota will be using capacitors in its hybrid race cars.

"To facilitate an extremely fast power supply and charging function, Toyota plans to fit its racing cars with a special capacitor along with batteries used in ordinary market models."