With the 2021 WEC season set to get underway in in March, Toyota has been putting testing miles on its GR010 hypercar, though both ByKolles Racing and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) are also due to field cars in the class this year. Details of the ByKolles entry remain sparse, with the team having released only renderings in late 2020, however, SCG appears to be well underway with the build of its SCG 007.
The bulk of the SCG 007’s development work is being undertaken by Italian firm Podium Advanced Technologies, and SCG has also partnered with long-time endurance racing outfit Joest Racing to run the cars. Meanwhile, Sauber has been contracted to develop the car’s aerodynamic package, while the composite tub, and the front and rear crash structures, are being supplied by Italian specialist Bercella.
In stark contrast to Toyota’s sharp marketing which teased the car before an official unveiling last week, SCG has been posting regular updates of its progress with the 007, with the car now starting to take shape.
The car will run as a non-hybrid, powered by a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V8, developed by French manufacturer Pipo Moteurs, with the engine based around the cylinder head architecture of the company’s I4 WRC engines, mated to a bespoke block. With power output capped by regulation at 500kW, the engine will be relatively low revving, with reliability and linear power delivery a prime consideration, Pipo says.
The team has opted to miss the WEC season opener at Sebring, Jim Glickenhaus explaining that with the event still uncertain, there was no point in the team rushing to homologate a car (which would then be all but fixed in specification for five years). Instead, the team is targeting the first European rounds of the WEC, set to be Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, in late April.
