After its Le Mans loss last year, Toyota is approaching the upcoming competition with a vengeance. Losing the critical 24-hour race just minutes from the finish, and losing due to a power failure, the company’s Gazoo design team had to concede defeat to Porsche, after dominating the course from the beginning.

Toyota is returning to Le Mans with a revised TS050 hybrid. The three examples destined for 2017 competition have been outfitted with 2.4L V6 turbocharged engines. After the 2016 race, Toyota placed fault with a turbo-to-intercooler air supply line, firmly denying that the engine compression issues that had plagued its TS050 entries in Belgium a month earlier were not to blame. However, compression improvements are at the heart of the engine modifications to the 2017 cars: a new combustion chamber, cylinder head, and cylinder block.

The hybrid system gets an overhaul, too. Mainly, the improvements here are weight-related: the battery is more efficient, and the generators are smaller.

In keeping with changes to 2017 regulations involving aerodynamic performance, downforce has been alleviated. The new TS050 has a more narrow rear diffuser, and a slightly higher front splitter, as well as a slightly raised nose. The issue at hand is safety, and lap time has been extended as a result. Another new design feature: hybrid system operational lights, mandatory on all competition cars running a hybrid system this season.

Not surprisingly, the monocoque structure has not been changed for the 2017 TS050s.