Toyota 7

The Toyota 7 was a series of racing cars that Toyota developed with Yamaha Motor Corporation, designed mainly for FIA Group 7 competition and the first purpose-built racing car project at Toyota. The first version, the 415S, began development in 1967 with an aluminium monocoque chassis built by Yamaha and a new 3 litre V8, the 61E, that produced up to 224 kilowatts. Four 415S made their debut at the 1968 Japan Grand Prix, where Nissan's R381 proved faster, but the car went on to win endurance races at Suzuka and Fuji later that year. The New 7, the 474S, used a steel space frame and a 5 litre V8, the 79E, of 395 kilowatts, and in 1969 Minoru Kawai won the World Challenge Cup Fuji 200 Mile race in one. The final version, the turbocharged 578A, used the 91E engine rated at about 597 kilowatts, but Toyota withdrew from the 1970 Japanese Grand Prix after Nissan did.