Toyota TS050 Hybrid Toyota Gazoo Racing No. 8 Buemi Hartley Nakajima Winner 24h Le Mans 2020 Spark Model 1:43

This 1:43 scale model car from Spark Model documents one of the most singular results in Le Mans history: car #8, a Toyota TS050 Hybrid running under Toyota Gazoo Racing, completed 387 laps of the 13.626 km Circuit de la Sarthe on 19–20 September 2020 to win the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans by a margin of five laps over the Rebellion R-13. The race, postponed from its original June date because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was run entirely without spectators — the only occasion in the modern era that Le Mans has been held behind closed doors.

The TS050 Hybrid: 986 hp and All-Wheel Drive

Introduced at Circuit Paul Ricard on 24 March 2016, the Toyota TS050 Hybrid was built around a carbon-fibre composite chassis and powered by the Toyota RHV Ph8.97 H8909 — a 2.4-litre 90° twin-turbocharged V6 producing 500 PS from the internal combustion unit alone. Two electric motors, one per axle, added a further 500 PS, bringing combined output to approximately 986 hp and driving all four wheels through a 6-speed sequential gearbox. The car weighed 895 kg including driver and fuel at the 2020 race, and ran on Michelin Pilot Sport LMP1 radial tyres on 18-inch wheels with Brembo carbon ventilated discs and Akebono calipers at each corner.

A Third Consecutive Win — and the Last Under LMP1 Rules

The 2020 Le Mans was the final round of the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship and the last race contested under the LMP1 technical regulations; Hypercar rules came into force for 2021. The sister #7 Toyota had led before losing roughly 30 minutes overnight to a turbocharger and exhaust replacement, handing the initiative definitively to the #8 crew. For Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima it was a third Le Mans win, all three with the TS050. For Brendon Hartley, who had replaced Fernando Alonso in the seat, it was a second overall victory — his first having come with Porsche in 2017. The winning car was subsequently loaned to the official 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum, added to its collection on 17 August 2021 as a centrepiece of the Toyota exposition.

Spark Model's Resin Replica at 1:43

Released in mid-June 2021, this resin model from Spark Model carries SKU 43LM20 and EAN 9580006420206. The livery replicates the established red-and-white Toyota Gazoo Racing scheme — primary red body panels with a white nose section — that the TS050 carried across its 2018, 2019 and 2020 Le Mans victories. As is standard for Spark Model's 1:43 resin range, the body is a sealed one-piece unit; surface detail is concentrated in the aerodynamic bodywork, sponsor graphics and race number presentation rather than mechanical openings. A separate trophy-edition variant exists as a distinct release.

In the Display Cabinet

At 1:43 and a model length of approximately 10.8 cm, the #8 TS050 fits comfortably in a standard collector shelf without dominating the space. It pairs naturally with the #7 TS050 from the same race, the preceding 2019 and 2018 Le Mans-winning #8 cars (Spark 43LM19 and 43LM18), or with the Rebellion R-13 that finished second in 2020 — together forming a compact record of the final LMP1 era. Collectors building a Toyota Gazoo Racing sequence may extend the run forward to the GR010 Hypercar winners from 2021 onwards.