415S (1968)

STORY

Toyota built the 7 for Japan's Group 7 races, a mid-engined open prototype with an aluminium spaceframe that first ran at the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji on 3 May 1968 as the 3-litre 415S. The 1969 474S used the 5-litre 61E V8, which Toyota declared at 330 PS at 8,500 rpm and which actually reached 328 PS at 8,000. Minoru Kawai drove it alone to third place at that year's Japanese Grand Prix, leading the first two laps, and won the World Challenge Cup Fuji 200 Mile on 23 November 1969. The 578A of 1970 took a twin-turbocharged version to a declared 800 PS, a figure Toyota itself understated. Against the Chevrolet-engined Nissans the problem was power, against the two-litre Porsche 910 it was weight. Toyota withdrew in 1970 and the car never raced.