SARD MC8-R
| Category | FIA GT1 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | SARD | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Hybrid steel aluminum | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Same as front | ||||||||
| Length | 4,540 mm (178.7 in) | ||||||||
| Width | 1,920 mm (75.6 in) | ||||||||
| Height | 1,132 mm (44.6 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Toyota 1UZ-FE 4,000 cc V8 Twin turbocharged Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland 6-speed manual (1995, 1997) March 5-speed manual (1996) | ||||||||
| Power | 580 ps @ 6,100 rpm (1995) 580 ps @ 7,000 rpm (1996) 664 ps @ 7,000 rpm (1997) | ||||||||
| Weight | 1,273 kg (2,806 lb) (1995) 1,061 kg (2,339 lb) (1996) 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) (1997) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Dunlop, Yokohama, Michelin | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | SARD | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | |||||||||
| Debut | 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans | ||||||||
| Last season | 1997 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Sard MC8-R was a modified and lengthened version of the Toyota MR2 (SW20) built for GT racing by Toyota's SARD (Sigma Advanced Research Development) works team.
SARD heavily modified the front half of the MR2s chassis and completely replaced the rear with a custom setup in order to fit a twin-turbo version of the 4.0-liter 1UZ-FE V8 producing 600 bhp (447 kW). This is the first car which only used the frontal chassis of production and was effectively a purpose-built semi-sports-prototype that successfully got GT1 homologation. The MC8-R lacked pace and was very unreliable which made it often finish at the bottom of the race. Competitors such as the McLaren F1 GTR and Ferrari F40 LM outperformed it along with the GT1 Toyota Supra that was also constructed under Toyota Team SARD.