Toyota last competed in sports car racing in 1999 with their GT-One cars, which qualified on pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. While two GT-Ones retired due to tyre issues, one finished second behind the race-winning BMW. Following this, Toyota withdrew from sports car racing to focus on establishing its Formula One team. After the Hybrid GT500 Toyota Supra HV-R won the Tokachi 24 Hours in 2007, Toyota sought a larger, international platform to showcase its hybrid racing technology. Engineers aimed to develop a purpose-built car to return to international endurance racing, specifically targeting the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to generate worldwide interest.
Design work for the TS030 Hybrid began in late 2010 with initial chassis designs presented to Toyota Motorsport. The project was briefly halted after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but car construction was approved six months later. The carbon fibre monocoque was built at Toyota Motorsport's headquarters in Cologne, which constructed 84% of the chassis and conducted aerodynamic development in its wind tunnel. Designers drew inspiration from outdated Dome chassis and contemporary Audi and Peugeot monocoques. The car featured an independent double wishbone suspension system with pushrod actuated dampers, designed to accommodate wide tyres.
The engine was a naturally aspirated petrol 3.4-litre V8 power unit, mounted at a 90-degree angle, producing 530 horsepower. Toyota engineers based this engine on their Super GT project rather than developing a new one. A six-speed sequential gearbox unit was transversely mounted to the engine, and the brakes were made from carbon materials.
The TS030 Hybrid incorporated a Kinetic energy recovery system (KERS), also known as ERS by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), produced by Toyota Racing Development. This regenerative braking device charged a super capacitor, supplied by Nisshinbo and mounted in the passenger compartment. The system directed an additional 300 bhp to the rear wheels. The motor generator unit acted as a generator under braking, harvesting direct energy from the drive shaft to slow the car and convert energy into electricity for storage in the super capacitor. This design aimed to achieve faster lap times when exiting turns and save fuel by reducing engine usage. Toyota selected Aisin AW to build the front electric motor and Denso for the rear power unit. Under 2012 Le Mans rules, Toyota could use its hybrid system at any speed, unlike Audi, whose front-wheel-drive system was restricted to a minimum speed of 120 kilometres per hour. Michelin supplied the team's tyres.
The car's livery was white with blue stripes running down the sides of the cockpit and on top of its sidepods, incorporating the colour scheme of Toyota's hybrid production cars and echoing liveries used by the manufacturer between 1985 and 1993. Toyota publicly announced its return to sports car racing in October 2011. In January 2012, the first car underwent a three-day private test session at Circuit Paul Ricard. Toyota planned to test their TS030s for 40,000 kilometres during the 2012 pre-season. The company partnered with the French-based Oreca racing team for operational support.
The TS030 was shown to the press on January 24 during its test session at Paul Ricard. After its initial roll-out, the car covered over 2,000 kilometres, focusing on tyre evaluation, long-distance hybrid system testing, and aerodynamic and mechanical setup optimisation. The team returned to the track in mid-February for a 30-hour endurance stint. A heavy accident at Paul Ricard during a second endurance test on April 4 damaged the chassis beyond repair, leading Toyota to cancel seven days of running at EuroSpeedway Lausitz and Ciudad del Motor de Aragón. Following the car's rebuilding, a functionality test was scheduled at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours a month later.
The TS030 was initially scheduled to debut at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, but the Paul Ricard accident forced a delay until the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June due to the time required to produce a new monocoque. The ACO and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) persuaded Toyota to expand its WEC presence by extending the entry deadline after Peugeot's withdrawal, but Toyota opted not to enter the 12 Hours of Sebring due to time constraints.
In early 2012, Toyota named seven drivers to the team. Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, both from open-wheel racing backgrounds, had no prior endurance racing experience. Anthony Davidson and Alexander Wurz brought previous sports car experience, with Wurz being a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. Nicolas Lapierre transferred from Team Oreca's Le Mans squad. Stéphane Sarrazin joined in May 2012, replacing Hiroaki Ishiura, who withdrew due to back discomfort after the first testing session. Super GT competitor Andrea Caldarelli served as the team's junior driver.
The TS030 Hybrid debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two cars. The No. 8 car qualified third, and the No. 7 car qualified fifth, despite electrical problems in practice and qualifying. On lap 82, Anthony Davidson in the No. 8 car collided with Piergiuseppe Perazzini's No. 81 AF Corse Ferrari at Mulsanne corner, somersaulting and crashing heavily. Davidson exited the car unassisted but was hospitalized with two cracked vertebrae (T11 & T12). The No. 7 TS030 Hybrid, which had briefly led, retired ten and a half hours into the race due to engine failure after earlier damage required lengthy repairs.
After Le Mans, Toyota fielded a single car for the rest of the season, introducing innovative rear wing extensions that, despite controversy, were declared legal. At Silverstone, the No. 7 Toyota qualified third, seven-tenths behind the pole-sitting No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro. In the race, the Toyota competed closely with the lead Audi, trading the lead before finishing second, ahead of the third-placed No. 2 Audi.
Kazuki Nakajima missed the next two events due to Super GT commitments. At the 6 Hours of São Paulo, Alexander Wurz secured the TS030 Hybrid's first pole position, nearly eight-tenths faster than Audi's No. 2 car. Wurz and Lapierre maintained the lead for most of the race, only ceding it during pit stop cycles, to secure the car's first WEC victory. At the 6 Hours of Bahrain, Lapierre qualified the No. 7 TS030 in third. Wurz took the lead early, and he and Lapierre maintained it for two hours until both illuminated number panels failed, forcing a seven-minute pit stop. They recovered to third before Lapierre made contact with Jonny Kane's No. 21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX-03a, damaging the TS030's suspension and forcing its abandonment.
For the 6 Hours of Fuji, Nakajima returned. He took pole position in the No. 7 car. The vehicle maintained its lead throughout the race, pulling away from the field. The No. 2 Audi traded the lead multiple times before being penalised for colliding with a slower car, allowing the No. 7 Toyota to secure its second victory. Nakajima missed the 6 Hours of Shanghai due to Super GT commitments, leaving Wurz and Lapierre as a two-person entry. Wurz put the No. 7 TS030 Hybrid on pole position. In the race, the car ran consistently faster than both Audi cars, only ceding the lead during pit stop cycles, and clinched its third victory with a significant lead over Audi's No. 2 car. The Toyota team scored 96 points with the TS030 Hybrid, finishing second to Audi in the 2012 World Manufacturers' Championship.
Toyota developed the car to mitigate the impact of the 2013 Technical Regulations, which increased the minimum weight of LMP1 vehicles by 15 kilograms. Development focused on fine-tuning the engine for improved power, efficiency, and reliability. New chassis tubs with a narrower front nose were manufactured, as the option for a front-wheel hybrid system was no longer needed. Due to limited resources, Toyota entered one TS030 Hybrid for the entire WEC season, with a second car participating in selected rounds, including Le Mans.
At the 6 Hours of Silverstone, Toyota brought two 2012-specification cars. Nakajima was absent due to a Super Formula commitment. Despite a timing system malfunction, the No. 7 and No. 8 Toyota cars qualified first and second. However, they struggled with tyre management and finished third and fourth, unable to match Audi's pace.
The 2013 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps saw the debut of the new 2013-specification car alongside one older chassis. The updated No. 7 car ran near the front for three hours before retiring due to overheating brakes caused by a malfunctioning energy recovery system. The rear brake assembly, designed to be assisted by the hybrid system's mechanical retardation, was overloaded when the system failed. The No. 8 sister car finished fourth. Post-race, technical director Pascal Vasselon stated that "his team's analysis from Spa showed that the current Balance of Performance significantly favoured Audi's turbo-diesel engine over its own normally-aspirated petrol engine," calling for a more favourable balance before Le Mans. The FIA and ACO reviewed regulations in May 2013, adjusting performance between petrol and diesel LMP1 cars, granting petrol-engine cars an additional 3 litres of fuel capacity from Le Mans onward.
At Le Mans, the No. 8 Toyota qualified fourth, three-tenths ahead of the No. 7 TS030 Hybrid in fifth, but behind both Audi cars. The race began on a damp track, and the two TS030s drove faster than in qualifying, moving up the field. As the track dried, Toyota fell back from the quicker Audis but had better fuel mileage. This pattern continued into the night, with the No. 7 and 8 Toyotas taking over second and third after two Audi entrants encountered problems. Overnight rain allowed Toyota's tyre strategy to narrow Audi's lead to under two minutes. Positions remained constant until heavy rain in the final hour caused Lapierre in the No. 8 Toyota to aquaplane into the barriers, requiring extensive repairs, and finishing fourth. The No. 8 Toyota of Buemi gained on Kristensen's No. 2 Audi in the closing stages but finished second. From the 6 Hours of São Paulo, Davidson, Buemi, and Sarrazin competed in the next two races, while Wurz and Lapierre focused on developing Toyota's 2014 car, and Nakajima concentrated on a joint Super Formula and Super GT programme.
At São Paulo, Buemi and Davidson qualified third. More than half an hour into the race, Sarrazin in the No. 8 Toyota collided with Dominik Kraihamer's No. 32 Lotus T128, forcing both into the turn three tyre barrier. The damage to the No. 8 Toyota's steering forced its retirement. Three weeks later at the inaugural 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, Sarrazin and Buemi qualified third. Sarrazin's qualifying run was hindered when Jan Charouz's No. 32 Lotus T128 hit his rear, spinning the TS030 Hybrid. In a warm-weather race, Buemi moved into second after a safety car period and challenged the No. 1 Audi. Toyota's better tyre management allowed the No. 8 car to finish second. For their home event, the 6 Hours of Fuji, Toyota announced two TS030 Hybrid cars would participate.
Both Toyota cars started second and third, with Buemi and Davidson in the No. 8 car and Nakajima and Lapierre in the No. 7. The race was shortened due to heavy rain and poor visibility. The No. 8 Toyota won after the No. 1 Audi made unscheduled pit stops for debris removal. The other Toyota finished 27th after a fuel pit stop at the start and a five-second penalty for leaving pit lane late. Following this victory, Toyota reversed a decision to run a single car at Shanghai, including a second to increase their chances of an outright win. Nakajima skipped the round for the Super Formula Championship. Lapierre and Wurz qualified the No. 7 car on pole, with Sarrazin and Buemi's No. 8 entry separating the two Audi cars in third. The No. 7 Toyota led into the final hour, but Wurz ceded the lead when he went off the racing line while passing slower traffic due to worn tyres. It was overtaken by the No. 1 Audi, and Wurz finished second. Toyota's No. 8 car retired from the lead in the fifth hour due to a sheared right-front suspension bolt.
For the season-closing round in Bahrain, Toyota confirmed two cars would be fielded, despite the No. 8 Toyota's suspension failure in Shanghai. Nakajima returned to drive the No. 7 car with Lapierre and Wurz. Both cars qualified on the front row, with Wurz and Nakajima's No. 7 taking pole by three-tenths of a second from Sarrazin and Davidson's No. 8 Toyota. The No. 8 Toyota was unchallenged, winning by one minute and ten seconds over Audi's No. 1 car, despite picking up a vibration in the closing minutes. The No. 7 sister car shared the lead until its engine failed before the second hour's end. The Toyota team accumulated 142.5 points with the TS030 for the second consecutive year, finishing second in the World Manufacturers' Championship, 64.5 points behind Audi. The new LMP1 regulations for 2014 rendered the TS030 Hybrid obsolete, and it was replaced by the TS040 Hybrid.