<< Prev Page 2 of 2 The only viable engine Toyota had available was the same four-cylinder, turbocharged engine as previously used on the successful Celica GTO. For use in the GTP car, it had to be wound up very hard, which caused reliability and overheating problems that would prove difficult to solve. Based on a production unit, it displaced 2,140 and featured twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Producing well over 600 bhp, it was mated to a Hewland five-speed gearbox.
Clothed in a very clean carbon-composite body, the first example was ready for testing late in 1988. Run alongside the Toyota/Dome 88C, it was driven 72 laps before the engine's timing belt failed. The two different cars were raced together for much of the 1989 season, and while not as quick, the Dome did prove more reliable. The best result with the 88C was a second at San Antonio for Juan Manuel Fangio II, while a fourth at Del Mar was the best the GTP car could muster.
During the following winter, development continued and a revised body with additional cooling was fitted to create the HF90. Reliability had also drastically improved and by round four, at Heartland Topeka, Fangio managed to score the program's very first victory, beating Nissan's Geoff Brabham in a straight fight. The Argentinean would score three more wins and Toyota ended the year third in the manufacturer's standings.
The GTP Mk II would soldier on into the 1991 season, while back at the AAR factory a brand new GTP machine was readied. Fangio took one more win with the Mk II before he switched to the GTP Mk III late in the season. With five overall wins in close to three seasons of racing the GTP Mk II provided vital lessons for the all-new GTP Mk III. This would grow out to become one of the most successful sports racing cars of all time. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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The only viable engine Toyota had available was the same four-cylinder, turbocharged engine as previously used on the successful Celica GTO. For use in the GTP car, it had to be wound up very hard, which caused reliability and overheating problems that would prove difficult to solve. Based on a production unit, it displaced 2,140 and featured twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Producing well over 600 bhp, it was mated to a Hewland five-speed gearbox.