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The launch of the in 1987 marked a significant step in Toyota's increased commitment to international sports car racing, headlined by the high-profile signing of former Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones . The Machine: Toyota 87C
: The 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans was a failure for the team. The car shared by Jones, Lees, and Eje Elgh retired after only 19 laps when Jones coasted to a halt out of fuel, just a kilometre short of the pits due to a team miscalculation. Alan Jones' Perspective
The 87C was an evolution of previous Dome-built designs, featuring several technical advancements aimed at competing with dominant European marques like Porsche and Jaguar.
Despite the Fuji victory, Jones later reflected on the Toyota 87C in a July 2000 interview as the . He was critical of the car's ergonomics and technical quirks, such as windshield wipers that smeared the glass to the point of zero visibility.
: The 87C debuted at the Suzuka 500 km, where Alan Jones and Geoff Lees secured a third-place finish.
: Built on a sheet-aluminium monocoque with a honeycomb core and carbon-fibre reinforcements. The bodywork was designed with large frontal air-intakes and ground-effect tunnels to improve performance.
Jones was "snapped up" by Toyota following the demise of the Beatrice F1 team, finding the lucrative offer to race in Japan attractive due to the lack of jet lag and favorable travel from Australia.
: It utilized a 2.1-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine (designated 3S-GTM), based on a production block but featuring a bespoke 16-valve aluminium head.
