By Leftlane Staff
Wednesday, Jul 5th, 2006 @ 3:50 pm

Toyota announced yesterday that it plans to compete in Japan’s only round-the-clock semi-international racing event with a Lexus GS450h hybrid sedan. This marks the first time an automobile manufacturer has played a hybrid vehicle in a competition that has semi-international status. The grueling Tokachi 24-hour Race is set to take place at the Tokachi International Speedway in Hokkaido (in northern Japan) from July 15 to 17. By entering a Lexus GS450h, engineers, with an eye toward obtaining technological feedback for future mass-production vehicles, position the race as part of their ongoing developmental efforts, hoping it will provide insight into how to make hybrid systems even more effective. They also plan to collect data on the potential of hybrid systems in motorsports. Full image after the jump…

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