The original TG183 had debuted in the final two races of 1982 with Derek Warwick. Its most idiosyncratic feature was front wing-mounted radiators, which caused aerodynamic instability at high speed. By the time the B specification was introduced for 1983, the front wing configuration had been replaced with a more conventional setup, addressing the handling issues that had blighted the original design. The twin rear wing arrangement that distinguished the TG183 family was retained, and the car continued to use the turbocharged Hart 415T four-cylinder engine.
For 1983, Toleman expanded to a two-car operation, fielding Derek Warwick and Bruno Giacomelli in the TG183B. The team remained a midfield and back-of-grid competitor, but the B-spec car represented a more composed and predictable machine than its predecessor. Warwick was the more prominent performer of the pair during this period, drawing attention from larger teams and ultimately securing a move to Renault for 1984.
The TG183B continued into the opening four rounds of the 1984 season, now driven by Ayrton Senna and Johnny Cecotto. Senna had been signed by Toleman after impressing in Formula Three, and his early outings in the TG183B immediately demonstrated exceptional raw pace despite the car's limitations. He regularly outperformed machinery with superior resources, establishing himself as one of the fastest drivers in the field within his debut season.
Johnny Cecotto, the Venezuelan former FIM 350cc and Formula 750 motorcycle World Champion, was the team's second driver, bringing an unusual background from two-wheel competition to Formula One.
The TG183B's final appearance was at the 1984 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, and the circumstances of that event produced one of the most notable footnotes in Senna's career: the only time he would fail to qualify for a Formula One Grand Prix.
The background was a commercial dispute. Toleman had been supplied by Pirelli, but the team switched to Michelin rubber ahead of the 1984 season. Relations with Pirelli deteriorated to the point where Toleman chose not to run on the first day of qualifying at Imola rather than revert to the Italian supplier's tyres. This self-imposed absence from day one left the team reliant on a single qualifying session to set a competitive time.
In that second session, conducted in wet conditions, Senna's Hart 415T engine developed a fuel pressure problem at Tosa — the Imola corner furthest from the pit lane entrance. Unable to return to the pits before the session ended, Senna could not set a timed lap. He was excluded from the grid, the only such failure in a career of 161 Formula One starts.
The TG183B was withdrawn after the San Marino Grand Prix and replaced by the purpose-built Toleman TG184 from the Monaco round onward. It was in the TG184 that Senna produced his legendary drive at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, running second in the rain behind Alain Prost before race director Jacky Ickx controversially stopped the race.
The TG183B's historical weight derives almost entirely from its association with Senna's emergence. As a piece of engineering it was an evolutionary rather than innovative design, and Toleman remained a team operating well within the constraints of limited resources against factory-backed competitors. Rory Byrne's authorship of the TG183 family is the other lasting thread of significance: the same designer would go on to create the most successful cars of the turbocharged and V10 eras at Benetton and Ferrari.