474S "New 7" (1969)

578A · 1969–1970RWD

The '474S', marketed as the 'New Toyota 7', replaced the aluminium monocoque with a Nissan R381-style steel pipe space frame and swapped in a 5-litre 79E DOHC V8 producing around 530 hp to fight the Nissan R382 and imported Porsche and Lola machinery. Minoru Kawai won its first outing at the 1969 Suzuka 500 km and then took the marquee 1969 World Challenge Cup Fuji 200 Mile Race, the so-called 'Japan Can-Am'. Twelve chassis were built; only Kawai's Fuji-winning car survives, restored in 2007.

523 hpPower

1969-1970Year

Gallery

474S "New 7" (1969), every angle

Exterior

Photo: Toyota press · via upload.wikimedia.org

Engineering passport

Specifications

Powertrain

Engineering details

Engine5.0 L (4,986 cc) 79E DOHC V8

Displacement5.0 L

Cylinders8

FuelPetrol

Transmission5-speed Hewland Manual

DrivetrainRWD

Performance

Numbers that matter

Power523 hp

Torque520 Nm

Weight720 kg

Wheelbase2300 mm

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.

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